V 



^ 
















^ 



'oV*' 







^o* 












$ • • 



t • 



• «1 ^"\ r»; 







LAPLANDER. 



THE 

LAND OF THE VIKING 



AND THE 



EMPIRE OF THE TSAR 



BY 

E. FRAZER BLACKSTOCK 



ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

1889 



v/ 



COPYRIGHT BY 

E. FRAZER BLACKSTOCK 






THE LIBRARY | 
OF C OMO* B*» 

WASHING*?* 



Ube Tfcnfcfterbocfeer press 

Electrotyped and Printed by 
G. P. Putnam's Sons 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Into a Strange Country . 3 
II. From the North Cape to 

Christiania .... 28 

III. Stockholm en Fete — Over the 

Baltic . . . . .42 

IV. The Great Cathedral — Its 

Music, Worshippers, Ikons, 
and Strange Ceremonials . 66 
V. More Churches, Shrines, and 
Monasteries — Drives about 
the Capital .... 82 
VI. Days at Tsarskoe Selo and 

Peterhof . . . .101 
VII. A Glimpse at the Hermitage . 126 
VIII. Our Last Day in St. Peters- 
burg — Seeing the Winter 
Palace— On to Moscow . 149 
IX. The Wonders of the Kremlin, 166 
X. Sights outside the Kremlin — 

Adieu to Russia . . .186 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Laplander .... Frontispiece *' 
Norwegian Carriole . . . . 10 l 
Laplander's Hut, near Tromso . . 26^ 
The Old Viking Ship, Christiania . 38^ 
St. Isaac's Cathedral St. Petersburg. 66^ 

Emperor of Russia 100 t 

Empress of Russia . . . . . 126^ 
44 tsar-kolokol," or klng of bells, 

Kremlin, Moscow . . . .180 
Church of St. Basil The Beatified, 

Moscow 192" 

Romanoff House, Moscow . . . 200 



THE LAND OF THE VIKING 

AND THE EMPIRE OF 

THE TSAR. 



DRAMATIS PERSONS. 

The Chief — Whose letters to the press won 
golden opinions, and whose courage sur- 
mounted all difficulties. 

The Matron — Whose thoughtful kindness 
knew no bounds, and who became an expe- 
rienced whip, overcoming timidity by deter- 
mination. 

The Signorina — The calm, experienced travel- 
ler, whose success as a linguist brought joy 
to our perturbed spirits. 

The Madame — Willing to try all languages 
and every national dish. 

The Squire — Always ready, and of an un- 
daunted spirit. 



THE LAND OF THE VIKING 

AND THE EMPIRE OF 

THE TSAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTO A STRANGE COUNTRY. 

With the first glimpse of the 
Norwegian coast we felt an instinct- 
ive desire to cast ourselves upon 
the rocks and cling to them, for they 
at least had an anchorage and were 
quiet. Oh ! that never-to-be-forgot- 
ten passage across the North Sea ! ! ! 

Sailing up the channel, before 
reaching Bergen we were charmed 
with the beauty of earth, sea, and 
sky. Around us irregular cliffs on 
either side, dotted here and there 
with small hamlets, gave us an idea 
of the thrift of the people. They 



4 Land of the Viking. 

make the best of every thing. 
Wherever there is a comparatively 
level space, some sturdy Norseman 
has built his little house, and every 
inch of productive ground is utilized. 
We found Bergen a picturesque 
town of great age, built in the form 
of a crescent at the foot of a range of 
hills. The approach is beautiful. 
The oldest part of the town is on 
the north side of the harbor, where 
formerly merchants of the Hanseatic 
league carried on their business. 
Now it is the fish-market, and in 
summer presents a lively appearance. 
From the deck of our ship we 
watched men and women preparing 
the cargoes for numerous small sail- 
ing-vessels lying at the wharves. 
Tons of dried fish were tied into 
bundles, to be shipped to Rome for 
use during Lent. How strange the 
town appeared, with its narrow 
streets, slanting roofs, quaint old 



Into a Strange Country. 5 

buildings, and appalling hills. From 
every side came row-boats to meet 
our ship, and passengers, with their 
luggage, were conveyed by them to 
different parts of the town. We 
drove over a steep, winding road to 
the Hotel Scandinavie, a quaint, 
cleanly little hotel, deservedly rec- 
ommended by Baedeker, where every 
thing seemed novel to us. We 
were amused to see our names writ- 
ten in full on a blackboard hanging 
in the main hall, the number of the 
room assigned to each guest being 
placed before the name, an arrange- 
ment we found in every hotel in 
Norway, Sweden, Russia, and 
Poland. 

Our first Norwegian meal was 
somewhat surprising. The food 
was clean and well served, but much 
of it unlike any we had before tasted. 
Of course there is an abundance of 
fresh fish. Of the various kinds of 



6 Land of the Viking. 

bread, only one was palatable. The 
national flat-brod, except for the 
purpose of experimenting, we left 
for the natives. The staple article 
of diet, however, is cheese, there 
rarely being less than seven varieties 
at each meal. One resembled a 
brick in form and color, and the 
taste must be an acquired one, for it 
is peculiar, to say the least. " I like 
cheese," said our Chief, with his 
characteristic bravery, and with a 
feeling of anxiety we watched him 
follow the Norwegian custom of eat- 
ing some at each meal, experiment- 
ing on the seven kinds before leaving 
Bergen. 

From the hour of our arrival we 
felt a sense of the rest and quiet pe- 
culiar to the country. Norwegians 
seem to be imbued with the idea that 
life is too precious to rush through, 
and they spend some hours each day 
in recreation, banks and offices being 



Into a Strange Country. J 

closed from twelve to three or there- 
abouts. 

Driving through the town, the 
pavements were sufficiently bad to 
remind us of home, but the narrow 
streets thronged with peasants in 
national costumes, shops displaying 
all sorts of wares, and a general 
primitive air made Bergen attractive 
to us. 

Our first Norwegian sunset we 
viewed from the summit of a hill ad- 
jacent to the hotel. The clouds 
were of a lovely tint, and the sur- 
rounding country bathed in glorious 
light. It seemed strange to see the 
ladies with open parasols at ten in 
the evening. Some children playing 
on the hill were interested in our en- 
thusiastic appreciation of the view. 
One of our party, with signs and at- 
tempts at Norwegian, tried to induce 
them to sing some national airs, but 
failed until copper coins were pro- 



8 Land of the Viking. 

duced, when they danced and sang 
vigorously, following us back to the 
hotel, their big wooden shoes making 
a great clatter on the sidewalk. The 
continuous twilight, added to feather 
beds and eider-down quilts, made 
sleep almost an impossibility, and 
one could read all night without arti- 
ficial light. We heard of a fair 
American who called for a light to 
heat her curling-tongs, but none 
could be found in the hotel, the use 
of candles and lamps being relegated 
to the winter months. Alas ! for 
bangs. 

The shops occupied our attention 
one morning, the furriers' and jewel- 
ers' wares being tempting. Fine 
large polar-bear rugs, with stuffed 
heads, were inexpensive, as also were 
those of squirrel tails, soft and pret- 
ty, whole robes of eider-duck feath- 
ers exquisitely dainty but perishable. 
The silversmith's work is peculiarly 



Into a Strange Country. 9 

fine, and the designs good. For 
modern articles the prices are reasona- 
ble, but all antique silver is most 
expensive ; tankards, cups, spoons, 
and other articles bought by the 
jewellers from peasants in the in- 
terior of the country are for sale 
in the shops ; queer, short-handled 
spoons, with round, shallow bowls, 
have grotesque designs engraved 
upon them. The fine old repousse 
tankards are suggestive of the ca- 
pacity of former generations for im- 
bibing the delicious Norwegian ale. 
The modern gold, silver, and oxi- 
dized filagree jewelry and articles of 
carved wood are purchased in quan- 
tities by travellers. 

Oh! that carriole drive which, 
through the brilliantly sarcastic letter 
of our Chief, has become historic. He 
was importuned to accompany us, 
but firmly declined, realizing, I sup- 
pose, how much more enjoyment 



io Land of the Viking. 

could be derived from jeering at 
the rest of us on our return, which 
he did without mercy. To describe 
our start is beyond the power of my 
pen, but a slight idea of the proces- 
sion can be had by imagining four 
carrioles (like the sketch) in a line, 
with a small boy on the back of the 
last one. The floor being small, the 
Madame's feet had to ride outside, 
which was restful if not picturesque. 
The Squire led off in great style, fol- 
lowed by the Matron, pale and 
determined, clutching with vigor the 
cords which served as reins ; next 
the Signorina, calm and unconcerned, 
with the air of one who had often 
been there before ; lastly the Ma- 
dame, with the worst horse in the 
crowd ; however, he came in first. 
The excitement in Bergen became 
intense, the small boys congregating 
in such numbers that a policeman 
was forced to disperse the crowd. 



Into a Strange Country. 1 1 

How the sturdy Norwegian ponies 
did go up hill and down without a 
break, the springless carrioles jolting 
the drivers to an exhausting degree ! 

The country about Bergen is beau- 
tiful, and the roads excellent. Driving 
along the base of a mountain we saw 
many houses in apparently inacces- 
sible spots ; it seems as if some of the 
picturesque chalets might drop down 
from their lofty elevation, built as 
they were on narrow ledges. The 
haymakers were working busily in the 
fields, and many stopped to gaze 
after the cavalcade dashing by. The 
women far outnumbered the men ; 
many of them had their little chil- 
dren playing in the fresh sweet- 
smelling hay, and babies lay basking 
in the glorious sunlight. Peasants, 
policemen, patricians, plebeians, all 
had a pleasant greeting for us. 

About one Norwegian, or seven 
English miles, from Bergen stands 



12 Land of the Viking. 

the summer residence of the United 
States Consul, where an old stone 
church, found in the interior, was 
brought in sections and erected in the 
beautiful park, where it is an object 
of interest to the tourist, not having 
been used for service for hundreds of 
years. It resembles a Chinese pagoda, 
and is supposed to have been built in 
the eleventh century ; the grotesque 
paintings on the walls represent dif- 
ferent saints, the colors being well 
preserved. As we stood by the altar 
I could not help wondering what 
manner of people worshipped there 
so long, long ago ; how little we 
knew of them ; their existence seems 
almost mythical. 

On an island not far from Bergen 
is the country home of the late Ole 
Bull. His memory is dear to the 
people of his country, and also to us 
who were privileged to hear him 
play with the rare expression and 



Into a Strange Country. 1 3 

brilliant execution peculiar to him- 
self. The famous composer, Edward 
Grieg, also lives in Bergen, and having 
seen the picturesque country I can 
believe that he draws inspiration for 
his lovely music from his surround- 
ings. In the interesting and complete 
natural - history collection is the 
largest whale skeleton in Europe. 
In the same museum we also saw 
several old church portals, curiously 
carved, brought from the Sognedal 
valley, some music ornaments, a 
large number of antique tankards, 
cabinets, wardrobes, and beds ; one of 
the latter, being elaborately carved, is 
probably of Dutch workmanship. 
From the top of the Rosencrantz 
tower, now used as an arsenal, we 
had a fine view. 

An event worthy of more than a 
passing allusion was a business ar- 
rangement which introduced to us a 
young Norseman who impressed us 



14 Land of the Viking. 

greatly. He was tall, well built, 
fair-haired, blue-eyed, and seemed to 
be a descendant of some old Viking, 
possibly the one said to have built 
for his lovely bride a stone habita- 
tion on these shores centuries be- 
fore the authenticated discovery of 
America, and whose " lofty tower still 
to this very hour stands looking sea- 
ward." In his strength and beauty 
the " Modern Viking," as the Signo- 
rina dubbed him, seemed a splendid 
specimen of the highest type of 
Scandinavian civilization. The last 
time we saw him we were overpow- 
ered by his majesty and might ; the 
very air surrounding him seemed im- 
pregnated with an aroma of wassail- 
bowls, feasts, and junketings of by- 
gone days, and we almost expected 
him to raise a tankard to his lips, 
crying : " Skoal ! to the Norseman 
Skoal ! " but as he drew nearer the 
indefinable something became a well- 



Into a Strange Country. 1 5 

defined odor of garlic and onions ! ! 
Alas ! our Viking was human and 
had lunched. We transacted our 
business hastily and fled. 

We saw many things of interest 
and much that was novel. While 
there were few evidences of great 
wealth, there seemed to be very little 
extreme poverty, and the people are 
good-humored and contented. We 
started for Throndhjem and the 
North Cape on Friday evening by 
the Olaf Kyrre of the Det Ber- 
gensk Nordland Skeselskab, a for- 
midable name for a line of steamers, 
but a model company for all that, as 
we were surprised to find the boat 
equal to the best transatlantic 
steamers. The Signorina and the 
Madame being lucky in occupying 
the captain's large and luxurious 
cabin on deck, afternoon tea soon 
became the rule. 

During the thirty-eight-hour trip 



1 6 Land of the Viking. 

to Throndhjem we passed through 
magnificent scenery ; the irregular 
snow-capped mountains were about 
us continually ; the channel wound 
in and out among myriads of islands, 
and the sea was as smooth as the 
proverbial mill-pond. At each stop- 
ping place row-boats came out to 
meet the steamer for the purpose of 
conveying passengers to and fro. 
At Molde, the entrance to the Roms- 
dal, the beauty of earth, sea, and sky 
was transcendent. Leaving Chris- 
tiansund shortly before ten on Satur- 
day evening, we had a vision of the 
New Jerusalem — the different tints 
on the hill's snowy peaks, peaceful 
sea, together with the sun sinking 
into the waters, shedding the most 
exquisite light, left an impression 
that can never be effaced. If in this 
sin-cursed world such beauty exists, 
what must be the glory beyond the 
clouds ! The veil that separates us 



Into a Strange Country. 1 7 

from Heaven seemed very thin to us 
then, and we almost felt as if we 
were standing before the Throne. 
The rules of the steamship company- 
forbid passengers remaining on board 
while at Throndhjem, where we ar- 
rived early Sunday morning. The 
Hotel Angleterre, patronized by 
Cook's tourists, we found noisy and 
untidy ; card-playing and drinking in 
all the public rooms forced the Eng- 
lish and American travellers to re- 
main in their apartments while in the 
hotel. 

We attended service in the pictu- 
resque stone chapter-house belonging 
to the cathedral built in 1 100 by King 
OlafKyrre. Itisanimposingstructure, 
having a subterranean passage to an 
island in the harbor, which was used 
in by-gone days as a means of escape 
from justice. The holy well of St. 
Olaf and a fine copy of Thorwald- 
sen's celebrated statue of Christ are 



1 8 Land of the Viking. 

the principal objects of interest. 
The king of Sweden and Norway, 
after his coronation in Stockholm, 
comes to Throndhjem to be crowned 
in the chancel of this cathedral. 
During the summer English service 
is conducted in the chapter-house, 
there always being a large number of 
tourists in town. 

Throndhjem is busy and prosper- 
ous, but there is little to see, 
although some of our party found 
the leper hospital worth visiting. 
What misery, suffering, and wretched- 
ness are suggested by the name of 
that loathsome disease ; during its 
early stages the mind of the afflicted 
one must be a prey to the most 
hopeless despair beyond human 
aid; there is nothing to anticipate 
in this life but repulsive and grad- 
ual physical and mental decay ; 
only a firm faith in God and a hope 
of dwelling hereafter with Him who, 



Into a Strange Country. 19 

when on earth, cleansed the lepers 
from their dreadful taint, will help 
them endure to the bitter end all the 
horror of their lot. Strange to say, 
in spite of the pure air of Norway, 
there is much of the disease in the 
country. 

On Monday evening we started for 
the North Cape in good earnest. 
The steamer was comfortably filled 
with about one hundred passengers. 
When we went on board we were 
greeted as old friends by the captain 
and officers. Most of the inhabitants 
of Throndhjem assembled to see the 
steamer off, and a brass band on the 
quay played various national airs. 
Altogether it was a lively scene, and 
the peasants in their gay costumes, 
with variegated kerchiefs on the wo- 
men's heads, made a bit of bright 
color in the landscape. Many coun- 
tries were represented among the 
passengers: a large party of Paris- 



20 Land of the Viking. 

ians, one of Germans, some Hunga- 
rians, and a few Scandinavians were 
hilarious. The English-speaking 
tourists had a private table in the 
ladies' cabin, thanks to the thought- 
ful kindness of Captain Getz, who 
realized that mingling with so many 
foreigners would be uncongenial. 
Breakfast, at nine o'clock, consisted 
of tea, coffee, several varieties of 
fish, one dish of meat, and the seven 
ubiquitous cheeses. Supper, at eight 
o'clock, was a similar meal, but the 
event of the day was an elaborate, 
well-served dinner at three o'clock, 
after which we had coffee on deck 
en famille. Notwithstanding all that 
tourists have said and written to the 
contrary, we found the food abun- 
dant and very palatable. 

Among the English-speaking trav- 
ellers, we had, of course, a bride and 
groom, whose ecstasies over each 
other were greater than when passing 



Into a Strange Country. 2 1 

through the most sublime scenery. 
"But," said the Chief, with his usual 
charity, " forgive them, they are so 
happy, so oblivious to all the world, 
and remember that it cannot last." 
Also the flirtatious American whose 
steamer-chair was surrounded by 
admirers, and who said, with mild 
enthusiasm, when the first glory of 
the midnight sun burst upon .us : 
" Is n't that real pretty, Mr. S. 
Don't you think a gown like the 
pink tint on that mountain would be 
just too sweet for any thing?" 
" Yes," he replied in a low tone and 
with an ardent look ; " and it would 
just match the color in your cheeks 

and " Waiting to hear no more, 

I fled precipitately to the captain's 
bridge, not being able to enjoy the 
similarity between midnight suns and 
cheeks. 

Two sisters and a brother (English) 
did every thing in the most approved 



2 2 Land of the Viking. 

guide-book style — alpenstocks, boots, 
gaiters, marine-glasses, and caps, all 
new-purchased for the trip ; profuse 
notes of travel copied verbatim from 
Baedeker, and a continual "Aw! 
this is awfully jolly, don't-cher-know ; 
perfect education for a fellah ; but 
what a beastly bore to meet so many 
Yankees ! they 're goin' all over the 
world now, don't-cher-know, they are 
so beastly rich," and so forth ad 
nauseam. Alas ! for us, the musical 
amateurs were there in numbers, and 
at their concert (heaven save the 
mark ! ) they rendered one of the 
most glorious nights hideous. A 
romance of short duration was the 
mutual admiration of the good-look- 
ing second-officer and a pretty, fair- 
haired fraulein, who fancied no look- 
ers-on noticed their coy blushes and 
loving glances. Alas ! there was no 
moonlight for them, and love-making 
in the sun had always seemed an im- 



Into a Strange Country. 23 

possibility until we saw how success- 
ful they were. 

Every hour the scenery became 
finer, the Norwegian coast being re- 
markably diversified. On Tuesday 
we dropped anchor at the famous 
Torghaetten Rock, and after a long, 
fatiguing climb we reached the point 
where there is a fine view through 
the " hole in the hat/' which is the 
literal meaning of the name. A large 
opening in the mountain gave a 
beautiful panorama of the sea and 
adjacent islands. According to the 
legend, a giantess pursued by an im- 
portunate lover was saved by an ar- 
row from her brother's bow piercing 
the hat and head of her pursuer, 
hence the name. The climb was 
doubly difficult on account of the in- 
tense heat. At intervals, on the 
winding, stony path, we found peas- 
ants offering fresh milk for sale, 
which was very acceptable, and they 



24 Land of the Viking, 

were grateful for the few copper 
coins given them. 

The evenings or rather nights, on 
deck were glorious; watching the 
sun set at half-past ten and rise again 
shortly after one was an uncanny ex- 
perience; the golden clouds and differ- 
ent tints on the mountains — orange^ 
pink, and purple— were indescribably 
beautiful. The sail through the pic- 
turesque Lofoden islands was one of 
the most enjoyable experiences of 
the trip ; at times the channel was so 
narrow that it seemed impossible for 
the steamer to avoid running against 
the rugged cliffs; again one would 
fancy that there was no outlet for us, 
so surrounded were we by the " ever- 
lasting hills/' that to turn about 
would be the only way to solve the 
problem. We passed quite near the 
Maelstrom, the danger of which is 
much less than has been popularly 
supposed. What recollections of 



Into a Strange Country. 25 

school-days it revived ; how vague 
one's childish ideas were as to what 
the Maelstrom really was ! It seemed 
as if in the seething fury of the waves 
there was a cruel, relentless fiend 
grasping all within reach, and drag- 
ging down to a horrible death brave 
sailors, whose struggles to escape 
were futile ; but, although the current 
is very swift, with strong power of 
suction, there are few instances of 
boats being lost. 

Passing the far-famed Seven Sisters, 
we found them seven cliffs of striking 
uniformity, side by side. After en- 
tering the Arctic Circle we noticed in 
certain places in the water a beauti- 
ful, transparent, grass-green hue, said 
to be caused by the innumerable 
ctenophora which it contains, and 
these frolicsome microscopic crea- 
tures are also phosphorescent. Huge 
glaciers, green fields, rugged moun- 
tains, combined with the novelty of 



26 Land of the Viking. 

sailing in the Arctic Ocean, over- 
whelmed us, and when we had the 
first sight of the midnight sun in all 
its majestic splendor, we felt that the 
acme of wonder was reached ; the 
exquisite sunsets of the previous 
nights were but a preparation for the 
glories we were privileged to see 
later. The weather was fine, and 
one felt that each moment spent in 
eating and sleeping was wasted ; 
nevertheless, we continued our meals 
with striking regularity. 

At Tromso a Lapp encampment 
was the attraction, and the diminu- 
tive, fur-clad, wretchedly dirty people 
seemed less like human beings than 
animals. The tribe is a large one, 
and well off as Lapps go ; they have 
a fine herd of reindeer, and all seem 
to live together. Many passengers 
bought souvenirs from the women 
and children, but they were too dirty 
for me to go sufficiently near to make 



Into a Strange Country. 2 J 

purchases. After visiting the encamp- 
ment, we wandered about Tromso, a 
straggling town, but of course boast- 
ing of several fur shops. At dinner we 
were served with reindeer tongues, 
as a reminder of the Lapps, I sup- 
pose, and they were most palatable. 
At Hammerfest, the most northern 
town in Europe, letters and cable- 
grams were sent by all the passen- 
gers, and a thriving business in stamps 
was done at the post. It is a com- 
pact, well-built little town, the inhabi- 
tants making their living by fishing ; 
the wharfs are lined with small sail- 
ing-boats, and the air is strongly 
impregnated with fish oil. We re- 
mained on deck nearly all night, not 
wishing to lose the glorious effect of 
sun and clouds at twelve o'clock. 
When the cannon was fired an en- 
terprising Norwegian photographer 
took a group of passengers by the 
strong light of the sun. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE NORTH CAPE TO CHRIS- 
TIANS. 

THE goal of our ambition was 
reached on Friday evening ; anchor- 
ing two hundred yards from the 
shore, the passengers were rowed in 
small boats to the landing-stage at 
the foot of the North Cape. Having 
waited until all the foreigners had 
started, we went on shore at ten 
o'clock and the ascent began. Ye 
gods ! what a climb it was ; it re- 
minded us of childhood's one step 
forward and two steps back ; for 
some fifty yards we had to scramble 
over stones and rocks, there being 
no path. When a third of the dis- 
tance had been accomplished, we 
came upon a strong rope fastened to 

2S 



North Cape to Christiania. 29 

iron posts, which was of great assist- 
ance ; after that the sensation was 
extremely like walking up the side of 
a house, the narrow zigzag path 
being worn perfectly smooth by a 
multitude of tourists. 

An hour's climbing brought us to 
the summit, and then, after a walk of 
a mile over the plateau, we reached 
the place where the finest view was 
to be had. Separating ourselves 
from the crowd, we went off to a 
lonely promontory where we could 
quietly enjoy the wonderful experi- 
ence. Although obscured by clouds, 
the sun cast the most exquisite shades 
on sea and mountains, and a peculiar 
pink tint on a rugged cliff toward 
the south was indescribably beauti- 
ful. There on the summit of the 
North Cape looking over the vast 
expanse of the Arctic Ocean, a feel- 
ing of profound awe filled our hearts, 
and the solemn memory of that hour 



30 Land of the Viking. 

will always be a cherished one. The 
weather being mild, it was difficult 
to realize that we were so far north, 
and we felt a strong inclination to sail 
farther and farther into the arctic 
regions. The weird desolation of the 
scene was intensified by the utter 
absence of all animal life. Gazing 
into the infinite space, we seemed 
alone with Deity ; a strong realiza- 
tion of our own insignificance forced 
itself upon us, and our souls were 
filled with reverence and adoration 
for the Almighty Creator of the uni- 
verse. The strangely powerful influ- 
ence that nature exerts over human 
beings was never more potent than 
when we stood upon the North Cape. 
Meanwhile, at the point, the for- 
eigners were drinking, dancing, and 
singing (?) to the accompaniment of 
an execrable brass band which board- 
ed the Olaf Kyrre at , Hammerfest, 
and played at the most inopportune 



North Cape to Christiania. 3 1 

hours. A fine granite monument in 
memory of King Oscar's visit in 
1873 has been erected on the Point. 
The descent was, if possible, worse 
than the ascent ; the sensation was 
like skating down a toboggan slide. 
There, on the summit and sides of 
the North Cape, are ferns, buttercups, 
forget-me-nots, and many varieties of 
wild flowers growing in profusion. 

After returning to the ship, most 
of the passengers commenced fishing, 
and over one hundred cod were 
caught in less than an hour. Five 
o'clock tea at two A.M. was very re- 
freshing, most of us being too excited 
to sleep. Walking the deck until six 
o'clock gave opportunity for talking 
over the wonders of the North Cape. 
We were so glad to have taken the 
trip, in spite of much advice to the 
contrary, several friends having told 
us that it was not worth the time 
and trouble ; but to us the experi- 



32 Land of the Viking. 

ence was of the greatest interest and 
pleasure, and one that would bear an 
early repetition. 

One of the largest glaciers in Eu- 
rope the Svartisen, was reached on 
Saturday. Many passengers went 
ashore and wandered about, looking 
for bears, and finding bluebells. 
The same afternoon we saw the 
famous bird-rock, one of the sights 
of Norway : a high rugged cliff was 
entirely covered with row upon row 
of small gulls ; the rock seemed to 
be a succession of ledges, where the 
birds were perched in strange regu- 
larity. At the firing of one of the 
ship's cannon, myriads flew upward, 
completely obscuring the sky for 
nearly a minute, then settled down 
again on the rock, to await another 
startling cannon. While flying up- 
ward, the effect was very peculiar, 
and they uttered a strange, hoarse 
cry. 



North Cape to Christiania. 33 

The entire distance from the North 
Cape back to Throndhjem was a suc- 
cession of beautiful sights ; the Lyn- 
genfiord, where we sailed for a day, 
is specially picturesque, and compara- 
tively little known, on account of be- 
ing so far north ; only tourists going to 
the cape have the pleasure of seeing 
it. On Saturday night we had the 
finest view of the midnight sun, and 
were overpowered at the transcen- 
dent beauty of the sight. The sun 
was a ball of fire, and the surround- 
ing clouds ranging in color from red 
to palest pink. Although extremely 
cold a privileged few remained on 
the captain's bridge until three A.M., 
enjoying every moment of the won- 
drous vision. Our chief conducted 
service on Sunday, which was at- 
tended by a majority of the passen- 
gers, and we spent a peaceful, quiet 
day amidst beautiful scenery. 

Before leaving the ship, some reso- 



34 Land of the Viking. 

lutions were drafted, signed by all 
the passengers, referring in the high- 
est terms to the ability, courtesy, 
and thoughtfulness of Captain Getz 
and his subordinates. After reading 
them, our chief called for cheers, 
which were heartily given and mod- 
estly acknowledged by the officers. 
I can only advise any reader who 
contemplates taking this trip, to en- 
deavor to secure passage by the Olaf 
Kyrre, which for comfort and cleanli- 
ness is a model steamer. 

We reached Throndhjem on Mon- 
day morning, and after saying good- 
bye to our fellow passengers we went 
to the Hotel Nordkap to rest for a 
few hours before starting for Christi- 
ania. It seems to me that the beauty 
of Norway must inspire the inhabi- 
tants to noble deeds and purity of 
life, for who could be mean or base 
living in a country where the scenery 
is so grand and majestic. One cannot 



North Cape to Ckristiania. 35 

help being selfish enough to regret 
that every year the number of tour- 
ists visiting Norway is increasing ; it 
would be a thousand pities to have 
that picturesque country desecrated 
by the average sight-seers, as so many 
others have been, and this feeling 
makes one desirous of seeing it thor- 
oughly before the aggressive tourists 
have succeeded in robbing it of its 
primitive charm. 

We left Throndhjem for Christiania 
in a sleeper, so called, but it was a 
most uncomfortable railway carriage. 
When pulled out to serve as beds the 
springless seats were not luxurious, 
no mattresses being furnished, and 
only a coarse, gray blanket for bed- 
ding. We felt little inclination to 
sleep, but discomfort was soon for- 
gotten in the beauty of the country, 
and we spent the greater part of the 
night looking out of the windows. 
For some distance the railroad skirts 



36 Land of the Viking. 

Lake Myosen, the largest and one of 
the most picturesque lakes in Nor- 
way. Meals at the Norwegian rail- 
way-stations are strangely conducted ; 
in the middle of the dining-room 
stands a large table covered with hot 
and cold dishes, plates, knives, forks, 
condiments, and an infinite variety of 
cheese. Each person appropriates a 
plate, knife, and fork, places it on a 
table prepared only with a spotlessly 
clean cloth, turns up a chair to indi- 
cate the place to be occupied, and 
going to a table in the corner of the 
room receives a cup of tea or coffee. 
It is an easy matter to go away with- 
out paying for one's meal, there being 
no attendants except at the coffee- 
table, and Norwegians expect stran- 
gers to be as honest as themselves, 
which is certainly saying a great 
deal. 

Christiania, the capital of Norway, 
with a population of over one hundred 



North Cape to Christiania. 3 7 

and twenty thousand, is beautifully- 
situated at the north end of the 
Christiania fiord. There seems to be 
a great deal of wealth in the city, 
many of the houses being large and 
luxurious. We found the well ap- 
pointed Victoria Hotel comfortable 
in every respect ; the elaborate table 
d'hote dinner was served at three 
o'clock in a gayly decorated tent 
erected in the court, where tables 
and chairs were scattered about for 
smoking and drinking coffee after 
the meal. Parliament buildings, uni- 
versity, museum of art, and palace 
are well-built, imposing structures, 
the latter being surrounded by beau- 
tiful gardens open to the public. 

Driving about the city was very 
enjoyable, the pavements being ex- 
cellent, the streets wide and clean. 
From St. John's Hill the view of a 
picturesque country is fine. A short 
distance from the city stands the 



38 Land of the Viking. 

chateau of Oscarshall, built on a cliff 
overlooking the fiord ; its situation is 
beautiful. Being merely used as an 
occasional resort on summer after- 
noons by the royal family, we had 
no difficulty in seeing the whole 
villa, which contains much of inter- 
est. The state dining-room, a charm- 
ing apartment, is filled with pictures 
by eminent native artists ; ten by 
Tidemand represent different phases 
of Norwegian peasant life. Rooms 
on the second-floor contain numerous 
gifts to King Oscar from different 
monarchs; also some of his majesty's 
uniforms and the gorgeously ugly 
coronation robes of the present queen 
and her predecessor. There is a 
charming view of the city fiord and 
environs from the top of the tower. 

In a shed behind the university 
stands the old Viking ship discovered 
in a mound some eight years since. 
Similar in shape to the Norwegian 



North Cape to Christiania. 39 

fishing-boat of the present time, it is 
built of oak, now jet black, is in a 
good state of preservation, and it is 
wellnigh impossible to believe that 
its age is nearly one thousand years. 
One peculiarity is the rudder at the 
side ; the bolts used in its construc- 
tion are like those used in these days. 
The bones of the Viking, with those 
of his favorite dogs and horses, were 
found in the sepulchral chamber in 
the middle of the ship, together with 
many ornaments and cooking uten- 
sils, all buried together in the ninth 
century, presumably. That wonder- 
ful craft ! Standing beside it gave 
one a strange sensation : how old it 
was ; what changes had been wrought 
in the world's history during the cen- 
turies it lay buried. The remains of 
the Viking proved him to have been 
a large, muscular, fair man ; what 
could have been his life ? he was 
without doubt brave and daring ; 



40 Land of the Viking. 

perchance the Norse prince, Leif, was 
of his family, — that prince who is said 
to have reached Mt. Hope Bay, 
Massachusetts, hundreds of years 
before Columbus sailed westward. 
Had he dear ones who mourned his 
death ; or did he sever all his ties of 
blood and affection when he joined 
the rovers of the seas. Is it possible 
that the Vikings were human like 
ourselves ? To us they seem mystical 
and unreal, but of great interest. It 
was late in the day when we went to 
see the old ship, and in the dim light 
it almost seemed like some relic of 
another world, so weird and uncanny 
it looked, and every-day life with 
eating and drinking was far from 
our thoughts. 

Reflecting upon the pleasant days 
spent in Norway, I begin to realize 
what a pleasure and privilege it was 
to see a little of that picturesque 
and restful country, where life pre- 
sents so striking a contrast to the 



North Cape to Christiania. 41 

hurry and bustle of America. Can a 
greater difference be imagined than 
that between the slow, easy, trustful 
existence of the average Norseman, 
and the rapid, unrestful struggle of 
the people on this side of the Atlan- 
tic? A summer spent in Norway is 
a great boon to a busy man burdened 
with cares and responsibilities, for it is 
impossible to help resting mentally 
and physically, as in the very air of 
the country there is a sense of peace 
and repose. The people have always 
a warm welome for strangers ; their 
lives are simple and wholesome, and 
their love of country very strong. A 
short and hurried trip, as ours neces- 
sarily was, made us desirous of re- 
turning soon, and driving through the 
country, taking it slowly, and see- 
ing much of peasant life. It is an 
excellent country to economize in ; 
hotel charges are moderate ; driving 
inexpensive ; and a small tip thank- 
fully received. 



CHAPTER III. 

STOCKHOLM EN FETE — OVER THE 
BALTIC. 

A SECOND night in a Norwegian 
sleeper, an improvement upon the 
first, brought us to Stockholm, the 
Swedish capital. Built upon Lake 
Malaren, the situation of the city, 
surrounded by islands and water in 
every direction, is exceeding pictu- 
resque ; and Stockholm is justly called 
"the Venice of the North. " On 
approaching we found that the city 
was en fite: flags, arches, decora- 
tions everywhere, in honor of the 
Kaiser's visit, who, with his suite, 
was spending two days at the Swed- 
ish capital en route from St. Peters- 
burg to Denmark. 

The large and elegantly appointed 
Grand Hotel has a fine situation, 



Stockholm enfUe. 43 

commanding a view of the busy har- 
bor, and is quite near the National 
Museum, where the royal family was 
paying a visit when we arrived from 
the railway station. The head-waiter 
gave us a window in the salon, where 
we had an excellent view of the 
street, crowded with expectant peo- 
ple watching for the royal party re- 
turning to the Schloss. We con- 
sidered ourselves fortunate in receiv- 
ing a special salute from King Oscar 
II. and the Kaiser, as they drove 
past, followed by many notable per- 
sons, among them Prince Heinrich of 
Prussia, Count Herbert Bismarck, 
and a large retinue of German and 
Swedish officers. The good-looking 
young Emperor had a very bored ex- 
pression, not a muscle of his face re- 
laxing at the enthusiastic cheers of 
the people. King Oscar is a remark- 
ably handsome and genial-looking 
man, and every inch a king. As the 



44 Land of the Viking. 

royal people were driving about the 
city most of the day, we saw them 
several times. At noon there was a 
great booming of cannon, and flags 
were run up in every possible place 
on the German yachts to celebrate 
the birth of a son to the Empress at 
Potsdam. 

The squadron commanded by 
Prince Heinrich, brother of the Kai- 
ser, was anchored in the harbor some 
two miles from the city, and the ten 
gayly decorated ships presented a 
fine appearance. From the roof of 
the hotel we watched the departure 
of the royal visitor and his suite 
after saying adieu to King Oscar on 
the elaborate landing-stage. One by 
one they stepped into small boats, 
each manned by twelve seamen in 
the uniform of the royal middies, 
and were rowed to the yachts amid 
the booming of cannon, cheers of the 
people, and bands playing. 



Stockholm en fete. 45 

Stockholm has great natural ad- 
vantages ; being intersected by canals, 
it is customary to pass from one part 
of the city to another by means of 
the innumerable small steam launch- 
es plying in every direction. Swedish 
girls, in picturesque national cos- 
tumes, row about in well appointed 
skiffs, their charges for passengers 
being merely nominal. The people 
of Stockholm live much out-of-doors ; 
numerous restaurants and gardens 
being filled with pleasure-seekers, 
drinking beer or coffee, and listening 
to excellent music, which can always 
be heard in the evenings. The 
Swedes impressed us as being an 
intelligent, patriotic, prosperous, and 
contented people, and they are by 
far the best class of immigrants com- 
ing to America, being thrifty and 
conscientious. 

The royal family is one of the most 
popular and beloved in Europe ; the 



46 Land of the Viking. 

king and queen are very democratic, 
driving about and receiving visitors 
in an unostentatious way. Their 
second son, Prince Oscar, recently 
married Miss Munck, a beautiful 
woman in attendance upon the 
queen, and by so doing relinquished 
his claim to the throne ; the third 
son, Prince Carl, one of the hand- 
somest men in Europe, is in the 
army. 

Most of the buildings in Stock- 
holm are large and imposing ; the 
National Museum, a building in the 
Renaissance style, is filled with in- 
teresting collections of pictures, 
statuary, coins, ecclesiastical furni- 
ture, and Egyptian articles. The 
colossal marble statues, in the vesti- 
bule, of Odin, Thor, and Baldur, 
the Scandinavian divinities, were 
suggestive of the fascinating my- 
thology of school-days. The large 
collection of antiquities consists of 



Stockholm enftte. 47 

articles for domestic use, ornaments 
and implements of all kinds belong- 
ing to the flint, bronze, and iron 
periods, many having been discov- 
ered in ancient tombs, where they 
had so long lain buried. The gem 
of the sculpture is a parian sleeping 
" Endymion " excavated in the last 
century at Hadrian's Villa Tivoli. 
The perfect repose of the exquisite 
figure fills one with a sense of rest, 
and in its naturalness it almost 
seems to breathe. Among the hun- 
dreds of pictures are many of great 
merit, and nearly all the old masters 
are well represented ; Rembrandt's 
" Oath of Ziska " is very fine, and, 
although unfinished, is one of his 
greatest works. On the lawn on the 
northwest side of the museum stands 
the " Girdle Duellists/' a fine bronze 
group by Mulin, which interested me 
very much, not only for its intrinsic 
worth as a w r ork of art, but also on 



48 Land of the Viking. 

account of the strange custom it 
represents. In the olden days the 
Scandinavians were bound together 
by belts, and so fought out their 
duels with murderous-looking knives. 
The people being very hot-headed, 
quarrels were easily provoked, and it 
is said that women used to carry 
winding sheets for their husbands to 
banquets where differences were like- 
ly to arise, as the contest always 
ended fatally to one or both duellists, 
and under such circumstances the 
feast could not have been altogether 
enjoyable to the wives. 

In the Northern Museum is a large 
and interesting Scandinavia collec- 
tion ; the women attendants are 
dressed in the picturesque Darlecar- 
lia costumes, and there one can form 
a fairly accurate idea of Swedish life 
from groups of wax figures, with ap- 
propriate surroundings, representing 
different scenes in peasant homes. 



Stockholm enfUe. 49 

The large square palace standing on 
a rocky elevation, commands a fine 
view of the canals and harbor. Of 
course, like all other palaces, it con- 
tains much of interest ; and the state 
apartments are fine, of which the 
large banqueting-room, the " Hvita 
Hafvet," or the White Sea, finished 
in white stucco, and furnished appro- 
priately, is the most imposing. The 
private apartments of the royal fami- 
ly were shown, and the greatest lib- 
erty was accorded us ; sitting by the 
king's writing-table, and in his Ma- 
jesty's chair, we had quite a feeling of 
" being to the manner born," as it 
were. The suite occupied by the 
Kaiser during his visit had evidently 
been newly furnished for the occa- 
sion, much of the hangings and fur- 
niture coverings being a brilliant 
green ; we thought the effect on the 
imperial complexion must have been 
somewhat trying. Counected with 



5<D Land of the Viking. 

King Oscar's smoking-room is a 
small glass apartment used as a win- 
ter parlor, having a profusion of 
vines growing on the walls and being 
furnished with excellent taste ; it is 
a cheerful and home-like nook, and 
we were told by the lackey that it 
was a favorite sitting-room of the 
royal family. 

Scattered about the palace are 
many beautiful ornaments presented 
to King Oscar by different monarchs, 
and also by his loyal subjects ; and a 
profusion of embroidery and painted 
work, done by the skilful members 
of the Bernadotte family. All the 
Swedes we had the pleasure of meet- 
ing spoke in terms of the highest re. 
gard of the King and Queen and 
their children ; they do much good 
among the poor, and take a deep in- 
terest in the welfare of their subjects. 
Among the numerous churches, the 
" Riddarholms Kyrka " is the most 



Stockholm enftte. 5 1 

interesting ; for centuries it has been 
the burial-place of Sweden's kings 
and most celebrated men ; for many- 
years no services have been held in 
it, except on the occasion of royal 
funerals. 

After a fatiguing day of sight-see- 
ing we enjoyed a drive in the " Djur- 
garden," a beautiful park laid out on 
an island a short distance from the 
city, and of which the people of 
Stockholm are justly proud. " Ros- 
endal," a large villa built by Charles 
XIV. John, with extensive hot-houses 
and orangeries, is well situated near 
the water. Not far distant is a statue 
to the memory of the great poet and 
improvisatore, Karl Michael Bellman, 
some of whose most charming ballads 
were composed under the shade of an 
adjacent oak ; many of his best poems 
were made extempore, and with per- 
fect ease. Stockholm's finest restau- 
rant is in the " Djur-garden," and the 



52 Land of the Viking. 

" Hasselbacken " is famous for its fine 
situation, excellent cuisine, and mag- 
nificent orchestra, and in fine weather 
is always well patronized. 

The pleasure of our visit to Stock- 
holm was greatly enhanced by the 
kindness of some charming Swedish 
friends of our chief, to whose thought- 
ful attention the greater part of our 
enjoyment was due. We accom- 
panied them to the summer palace 
of Drottningholm, situated on the 
most beautiful of Lake Malaren's 
numerous islands, about seven miles 
from the city, and during the charm- 
ing sail thither we passed many sum- 
mer residences of wealthy city people. 
The famous architect, Nicodemus 
Tessin, designed the beautiful palace, 
which is sumptuously fitted up and 
perfect in all its details ; it contains a 
large number of pictures and other 
works of art, and the home-like pri- 
vate rooms were most attractive. The 



Stockholm enftte. 53 

extensive grounds are laid out in imi- 
tation of those at Versailles, and the 
fine fountains play frequently in sum- 
mer. A Chinese pagoda is a curious 
little building, and the details well 
carried out. 

A few days previously a large lunch- 
eon party had been given in honor of 
the Kaiser in the great banqueting- 
room, and before leaving the palace 
his Majesty had written his name in 
the visitors' book (and written it well, 
too) ; and, of course, we had the 
honor of sitting at the same table 
and in the same chair while inscribing 
our names in the precious volume. 
Drottningholm is the favorite resi- 
dence of the royal family, and we 
could easily understand the charm 
this beautiful and tranquil place has 
for the privileged few residing there. 
A dinner-party drive to " Hassel- 
backen," where we greatly enjoyed 
the fine music, and a moonlight sail 



54 Land of the Viking. 

back to the hotel made our last day 
in Stockholm very enjoyable. The 
great kindness shown us by our 
Swedish friends was almost over- 
powering, and after making our visit 
delightful in every way, they started 
us off for St. Petersburg with the 
kindest of adieus, and laden with 
flowers and bon-bons. 

Well-built, w T ell-paved, and scrupu- 
lously clean, Stockholm impressed 
us as being a model city, and we 
wished that on this side of the Atlan- 
tic the civic authorities would strive 
for the degree of perfection the " Ven- 
ice of the North " seems to have at- 
tained. The numerous lines of street 
railways are well managed ; the civil 
conductors and drivers wearing neat 
and appropriate uniforms ; the large, 
comfortable cars are very clean ; and 
the drivers have the rare faculty of 
stopping the horses so that the rear 
platform is on the crossing. 



Over the Baltic. 55 

I was much impressed while in 
Norway and Sweden with the strik- 
ing contrast between these Protestant 
countries and those where Catholi- 
cism holds sway; there is no abject 
poverty, and one is never importuned 
by beggars, as in Italy, for example ; 
the people work in a contented way, 
do the best they can, and enjoy the 
results of their labor in a rational 
manner. 

Across the Baltic we started for 
St. Petersburg, expectant and full 
of excitement. It seemed strange 
that we were really to go to Russia, 
that remarkable country, which has 
so much prominence in modern 
thought, writing, and discussions. 
Our ideas were chaotic, and we felt 
that in going there we took our 
lives in our hands, but continued to 
go as fast as the good steamer would 
take us. 

Finland ! The name suggests a 



56 Land of the Viking. 

barren, uncivilized country, peopled 
by creatures after the order of Lapps. 
Our preconceived ideas were wrong, 
and on reaching Helsingfors, the 
capital of the Grand Duchy of Fin- 
land, we found it a large, well built, 
imposing city, with a population of 
50,000, having a university, mu- 
seum, palace, fine theatre, numerous 
churches, and a large park. The 
new hotel on the esplanade proved 
even better than the Grand in Stock- 
holm, and there we enjoyed our 
first Russian meal before continuing 
our journey to St. Petersburg. In 
the evening the park was filled with 
Finns, walking about, drinking vodki, 
and listening to an excellent orches- 
tra, apparently enjoying civilization, 
and conducting themselves very much 
like any other people. 

Passing Cronstadt we found the 
extensive fortifications of great 
strength ; from there we sailed up 



Over the Baltic. 5 7 

the narrow canal, by which all large 
steamers are obliged to reach St. 
Petersburg, and which is one of the 
most remarkable works of the kind 
in Europe. 

Forty hours after leaving Stock- 
holm, the first glimpse of the Russian 
capital thrilled us all. There, glit- 
tering in the sunlight, rose the gilded 
dome of St. Isaac's, and, drawing 
nearer and nearer to that wonderful 
city our excitement increased, and 
we could not realize that at last we 
were approaching St. Petersburg. 
It seemed like a dream, but on reach- 
ing the wharf and seeing mighty 
officials armed with authority to 
examine all our belongings, and even 
to prevent us from landing, if they 
thought fit, we found that we were to 
deal with stern realities. Looking 
down from the deck of the steamer 
we saw a heterogeneous collection of 
men ; custom-house officials in gor- 



58 Land of the Viking. 

geous green and gold uniforms, look- 
ing as if they could be very unpleas- 
ant on slight provocation ; moujiks 
waiting to carry luggage to the bus- 
ses and other vehicles in the street ; 
commissionaires looking for employ- 
ment ; all talking in a language sound- 
ing like a cross between Choctaw and 
Chinese. 

The passport and custom-house 
formalities were soon over, and going 
through to the street we were met 
by Pilly, the valet de place engaged 
by us previously. According to the 
description given of him by our chief, 
he is the greatest mixture of humility 
and egotism, knowledge and igno- 
rance, in Europe. He proved him- 
self perfectly invaluable, and Murray's 
guide-book justly recommends him 
as the best courier in the country. 
It is the height of folly to attempt 
travelling in Russia without an ex- 
perienced guide ; in the matter of 



Over the Baltic. 59 

hiring a cab, for example, it is neces- 
sary to make a bargain ; there being 
no regular tariff, the drosky driver 
always asks a stranger at least five 
times more than he expects to re- 
ceive, and bargaining in English with 
a Russian is a very hopeless matter 
for the traveller. 

How strange every thing looked 
to us during the long drive from the 
wharf to the hotel. Most of the 
streets seemed deserted, for the city 
is so vast that the population of nine 
hundred thousand is not sufficient to 
fill it, and, except on the Nevski 
Prospect, there are comparatively 
few people. Few women are seen 
walking in public, — in that as in 
many other respects Russia retains 
a trace of Orientalism. We passed 
queer little shops with painted signs 
on each side of the entrance repre- 
senting the wares sold inside ; butch- 
ers, with legs of mutton and impossi- 



60 Land of the Viking. 

ble-looking poultry ; bakeries, with 
gigantic rolls and loaves too highly- 
colored to tempt one's appetite ; 
boot shops whose strangely shaped 
gear could not by any stretch of 
imagination be supposed to fit the 
human foot; mammoth peaches, 
oranges, and grapes at the fruiterers, 
and grotesque costumes of by-gone 
days at the dry-goods shops ; it did 
not seem possible that we were in 
Europe, for the gay colors, innumer- 
able domes and minarets, and strange 
dress of the people make St. Peters- 
burg very Oriental in appearance. 

Arriving at the Grand Hotel d'Eu- 
rope on the Nevski Prospect, we 
found a huge building of red stucco; 
a group of moujiks stood on the side- 
walk, waiting to help us alight from 
the omnibus, clothed in long red 
shirts with crash aprons, trousers 
tucked into high boots ; with their 
dark heavy faces framed in masses 



Over the Baltic. 61 

of long straight hair they looked 
very strange. Before our rooms were 
assigned our passports were given up 
and sent to the police to be regis- 
tered and vised, so we were under 
surveillance every moment while in 
St. Petersburg, as in Moscow and 
Warsaw. The hotel proved very 
luxurious ; our comfortable rooms 
on the second floor were moderate 
in price ; the charge for a large salon 
with two bedrooms adjoining was 
only six roubles, or three dollars, per 
day for the Signorina and the Ma- 
dame ; every thing included, our daily 
hotel bill did not average more than 
$4.50 each, which seemed reasonable. 
The main dining-room, in white 
and gold with marble floor, is a beau- 
tiful apartment ; during table-d 'hote 
the English waiter appointed to look 
after American travellers gave his 
advice as to our choice of dishes. 
First comes the " Zakouska," a cold 



62 Land of the Viking. 

meal of every kind of hors d'ceuvres, 
accompanied by vodki, the Russian 
whiskey. One's appetite for dinner 
is supposed to be heightened by par- 
taking liberally of caviare, raw her- 
ring, anchovies, sardines, salads, and 
various other relishes. Fortunately, 
although the government is the most 
despotic in the world, travellers are 
allowed to use their own discretion 
as to the amount of food they re- 
quire. For dinner there are always 
two soups, one Russian and one civil- 
ized ; the former, tasting like a com- 
bination of equal quantities of sour 
cream and cabbage, is perfectly cold. 
The fruit was remarkably good, and 
the native wines, made in the Crimea, 
light and palatable. It was a usual 
thing to see pretty women joining 
the men at table in an after-dinner 
smoke ; they use a special brand of 
cigarettes and apparently enjoy it as 
much as the stronger sex. 



Over the Baltic. 63 

In the well appointed reading-room 
we found, in addition to Russian 
journals, London and New York pa- 
pers, in nearly all of which some 
paragraphs were undecipherable, hav- 
ing been blackened by order of the 
censor of the press. All newspapers, 
books, and pamphlets are carefully 
perused by this powerful official or 
his subordinates before being deliv- 
ered to those to whom they are 
directed, and any article casting 
reflections upon the government or 
royal family is promptly obliterated 
by a roller of black ink being passed 
over it, and through the black den- 
sity not a word can be read. In spite 
of the injustice of this strict law, I 
could not help wishing that in some 
way a quietus could be put upon the 
license of the press on this side of 
the Atlantic, for there seems to be 
no limit to the liberty tolerated in 
the journals of the present day. 



64 Land of the Viking. 

After dinner Pilly came to us say- 
ing : " Ladies, and gentlemen, and 
Miss, there is a special service in St. 
Isaac's this evening, would you not 
like to hear the music ?" It required 
very little time to prepare for what 
proved to be a great pleasure, and we 
were soon driving rapidly down the 
Nevski Prospect in a landau drawn 
by a span of powerful black horses, 
our coachman urging them on with 
kindly words, terms of endearment, 
and vigorously cracking his long whip 
in the air, which, however, never 
touched the horses. The Russians 
rarely ill-treat their animals, but 
talk to them as if they were imbued 
with human intellect : " Go on, little 
brother " ; " Be quick, my little 
friend " ; " Hurry up, my father," 
etc., etc. The strange dress of the 
coachman is the same, whether em- 
ployed by the nobility or driving the 
commonest drosky ; of course there 



Over the Baltic. 65 

are degrees of cleanliness and orna- 
mentation, but they all wear long 
Coats reaching to the ground, but- 
toned diagonally, tied at the waist 
with an embroidered girdle ; this, 
with an abbreviated bell-crowned 
beaver hat surmounting a shock of 
matted hair, gives them a grotesque 
appearance* 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE GREAT CATHEDRAL — ITS MUSIC, 

WORSHIPPERS, IKONS, AND STRANGE 

CEREMONIALS. 

t- St. Isaac's ! What recollections 
are awakened by the name of the 
mightiest cathedral of northern Eu- 
rope ! That vast edifice, filled with 
the choicest products of this world's 
mines, how it loomed before us, 
and as we approached we were filled 
with a sense of our inability to appre- 
ciate its vast proportions and superb 
architecture at a single visit. Built 
in the form of the Greek cross, with 
an imposing entrance on each of the 
four sides, it is approached from the 
level of the street by broad flights of 
steps of polished Finnish granite, 
each flight cut from a single block, 
66 



The Great Cathedral. 67 

which required enormous expendi- 
ture of money and labor. At each of 
the entrances are twenty-eight pillars 
supporting the portico, monoliths 
of the same rare granite, perfectly 
round and smooth. Scores of statues 
and bas-reliefs are of bronze, and the 
magnificently carved doors are of the 
same metal. One is perfectly over- 
whelmed at the magnificence of the 
exterior, and although service had 
commenced we lingered outside, loth 
to enter until we had examined some 
few of the details. 

" Come," said Pilly, " or you '11 be 
pretty sorry if you miss the music, 
besides its much gorgeouser inside " ; 
and truly he was right. In we went, 
past the rows of begging nuns who 
are always to be found at the church 
doors, being sent out from the con- 
vents to raise a certain sum of 
money ; when this is accomplished 
they return to their several convents 



68 Land of the Viking. 

and are cared for during the remain- 
der of their lives ; but they were so 
dirty and repulsive, that we felt that 
if the sum required were a large one 
they might stand for years before 
collecting it. 

Just within the doors we stopped 
spell-bound ; service was going on 
and we, with the exception of the 
Signorina, heard for the first time 
the wonderful music of the Russo- 
Greek Church. No instruments be- 
ing allowed, and the choir being com- 
posed of boys and men, their ages 
ranging from perhaps eight to forty 
years, the harmonies are sublime, 
and although there is great repeti- 
tion in the chanting, it never be- 
comes wearisome ; the " Guspodi 
Guspodi," or " Lord have mercy 
upon us," seemed to thrill our souls. 
The deep voices of the older men 
sounded like a mighty organ, and the 
responses by the youthful choir made 



The Great Cathedral. 69 

us feel that we were listening to the 
harmonies of heaven. Standing some- 
what apart from the throng of devout 
worshippers, some of us, indeed, I 
think all, were completely over- 
come by the matchless sublimity of 
the music ; the effect was somewhat 
exhausting — it raised one to the high- 
est pitch of enjoyable excitement. 

" Come," said the Matron at the 
conclusion of the service, " let us go 
and rest for we cannot endure more, 
even though it should be enjoyment/* 
But, instead, we wandered about the 
vast cathedral, loth to leave until we 
had seen a few of the marvellous 
decorations. The quantities of por- 
phyry, marble, jaspar rhodonite, 
malachite, and lapis-lazuli in floors, 
walls, and pillars bewildered us. 
The gold doors of the Ikonastas at 
the back of the altar, shutting off 
the inner sanctuary, where women 
are never admitted, are covered 



jo Land of the Viking. 

with paintings and mosaics of great 
value. 

At the Centennial Exhibition I 
well remember being fascinated with 
the Russian exhibit, and bought for 
quite a sum a four-by-six inch slab of 
malachite ; the man in charge casually 
remarked : " That is like the pillars 
in St. Isaac's, Miss. ,, To my mind 
the pillars might have been a foot or 
two high, and then I thought how 
fine they must look, but on seeing 
four at either side of the altar some 
thirty feet high and the same number 
of lapis-lazuli, I felt that without vis- 
iting Russia one can have no realiza- 
tion of the accumulated treasure of 
the country. In England a friend 
said to one of the party, " Did you 
see any of this in Russia? M showing 
a scarf pin set with a piece of lapis- 
lazuli the size of a pea, perfect in 
color and highly valued by the 
owner. " Yes,'' was the crushing 



The Great Cathedral. 71 

reply, " in one room at the summer 
palace of Tsarskoe Selo there are a 
dozen tables and a score of other 
articles made from the same precious 
stone." Not that it is inexpensive 
even in Russia, but the lavish expen- 
diture of the Tsars from the time of 
Peter the Great has secured a wealth 
of rarest treasures. The railing about 
the chancel is of solid silver. The 
Ikons interested us very much, the 
first we had ever seen. They are sa- 
cred pictures worshipped by the peo- 
ple, — representations of Christ, the 
Madonna and Child, and of various 
saints, the especial favorite being St. 
Alexander Nevski, whose memory is 
held in great reverence by the Rus- 
sians. The Ikons are usually about 
two feet square, covered with glass 
and framed elaborately ; most of 
them are placed on inclined sup- 
ports, and have exquisite lamps of 
gold, silver, or enamel hanging be- 



72 Land of the Viking. 

fore them always lighted. With the 
exception of hands, face, and feet all 
the painting is covered with orna- 
mental gold and silver plates. On 
many Ikons diamonds, sapphires, and 
other precious stones are set in the 
greatest profusion in the crowns, 
around the throats, and about the 
hands, making the effect dazzling 
and the value enormous ; others have 
imitation stones of great brilliancy. 

The first act of a Russian upon 
entering a church is to purchase a 
small candle which has previously 
been blessed. This he lights and 
places in one of the numerous small 
holders on the top of a massive silver 
or rare enamel candlestick, one of 
which stands in front of each Ikon. 
A large gayly decorated candle burns 
in the centre, surrounded by holders 
for one or two dozen smaller ones, 
which are nearly always filled by 
devotees. Then the worshipper goes 



The Great Cathedral. 73 

to the framed picture, kisses the glass 
covering it, crosses himself, and con- 
tinues his devotions. This continual 
kissing of Ikons is a fruitful source 
of diseases of the mouth among Rus- 
sians, for the glasses being seldom 
cleaned a kind of thin crust is 
formed, which of course transmits 
any impurities of the skin. The sale 
of candles is a source of considerable 
revenue, a stall filled with all sizes 
being kept inside the door of each 
church. If a worshipper is very de- 
vout he will purchase a fine candle 
for twenty or thirty kopecks, but if 
very poor and not so religious he can 
do his duty for a tenth of the sum. 
After burning to a certain length the 
candles are removed by one of the 
numerous uniformed servants of the 
church ; they are then melted down, 
made into new ones and sold over 
again. Is not this a very thrifty 
custom ? 



74 Land of the Viking. 

Intent upon their worship, the 
Russians pay no heed to sight-seers. 
They are superstitious to an incredi- 
ble degree and in small matters carry 
it to an absurd extent. For exam- 
ple, when a man yawns, he crosses 
himself to prevent the devil from 
jumping down his throat. During 
service they have no especial time 
for crossing themselves, but when- 
ever the inclination seizes them they 
cross with the thumb first and mid- 
dle finger, signifying the Trinity ; 
this is repeated three times, then 
prostrating themselves they touch 
the floor with their heads the same 
number of times and murmur in Rus- 
sian : " God have mercy upon us." 

The service of the Russo-Greek 
Church is by far the most imposing 
of any I have ever seen. During the 
prayer for the Tsar, when the doors 
of the Ikonastas are closed, the deep 
chanting of the choir, with the glori- 



The Great Cathedral. 75 

ous voice of the officiating deacon 
intoning the prayer, impresses one 
with the solemnity of the occasion 
and the devotion of the people. No 
seats being allowed, strangers can 
wander about at will and seem to 
cause no commotion. To St. Isaac's 
we returned several times. The mu- 
sic and entire service on Sunday 
morning were very impressive, and 
we were content to stand until its 
close, although over two hours long. 
It is always better to stand where 
one cannot see the singers, as their 
appearance is unprepossessing ; their 
long surplices reach the floor and 
are tied in at the waist ; their heavy 
faces and unkempt hair detract from 
the feeling of devotion the music in- 
spires. With one exception, the choir 
of St. Isaac's is the finest in Russia, 
its superior being the private choir of 
the Tsar which we could not hear. 
The squalor, poverty, and filth of a 



J 6 Land of the Viking. 

majority of the worshippers present- 
ed a terrible contrast to the magnifi- 
cence of the churches, of which it is 
hopeless to attempt to give the 
slightest conception. St. Isaac's is 
worth over fifteen millions of dollars. 
I was the only one of our party to 
ascend the great dome, and truly it 
was a hard climb. A half hour's 
steady walking up winding stairs 
and, finally, narrow iron ladders, 
brought me to the very top, but 
it was worth far more trouble and 
fatigue to see the wonderful view of 
the vast city from that height. The 
area covered by St. Petersburg seems 
to be illimitable ; the buildings are 
close together, very large, but not 
high. Some writer speaks of three 
palaces side by side, so huge that to 
pass them requires a walk of half an 
hour, certainly every thing in Russia 
is on the same gigantic scale. From 
St. Isaac's dome one is able to realize 



The Great Cathedral. yj 

more fully the daring of Peter in 
building his capital on that particu- 
lar locality. It seemed to me that 
the quaking morass on which the 
city stands might some day swallow 
it all up. Scattered here and there 
are tall towers, where continual watch 
is kept for fire and the rising of the 
Neva. The story of the building is 
so well known that it is needless to 
enter into details, but the perishing 
of one hundred thousand workmen 
from the cold, wet, and poisonous 
marsh gas is a sad side to its history. 
Peter's expressed desire to have his 
city " a window looking out into 
Europe " was fully realized. 

After the first evening spent in this 
wonderful cathedral, wearied with the 
impressive service and satiated with 
magnificence, we drove for nearly the 
entire length of the Nevski Prospect, 
the longest and finest street in St. 
Petersburg, and then to the railway 



J 8 Land of the Viking. 

station to say adieu to our Squire, who 
left for America via Moscow and Bre- 
men. It was a sad moment when the 
first break was made in our party, and 
with genuine regret we said good-by 
to one who had proved himself an 
excellent companion, and whose un- 
tiring kindness added much to the 
pleasure of our trip. 

" What shrine is that, Pilly ? " asked 
the Matron, as we passed a small open 
temple returning from the station. 
"Law,ma'am," said Pilly, "that 's 
no shrine, it 's only a little pray-God 
place." All over the city are these 
" little pray-God places " where the 
devout people enter, cross them- 
selves, drink some holy water, leave 
an offering of a few kopecks, and go 
on their way. The numerous shrines 
have been erected to saints, or in re- 
membrance of some holy deed, or as 
thank-offerings. Some twenty years 
since a man shot at the late Emperor 
as he passed through the gate of the 



The Great Cathedral. 79 

summer garden. On that spot has 
been erected one of St. Petersburg's 
most elaborate shrines, as a token 
of gratitude that his Majesty's life 
was spared. A fine cathedral is now 
being erected where the dynamite ex- 
plosion occurred which so cruelly end- 
ed the life of the " Tsar Liberator/' 
as he is called. 

At many churches unleavened bread 
in small loaves was offered for sale. 
It was strange to see people drink- 
ing holy water, instead of merely 
using it for crossing; the cups are 
rarely cleansed, and it cannot be a 
healthful practice to drink the water 
where so many grimy hands have 
been dipped, but the superstitious 
people probably think drinking the 
blessed water is more efficacious than 
a slight outward application. But, oh ! 
they are so filthy ! Is it not said that 
the Russian moujik, clad in sheep- 
skin, is thoroughly bathed but three 
times, at birth, marriage, and death? 



80 Land of the Viking. 

In passing shrines and cathedrals 
the men remove their hats and cross 
themselves devoutly, and during our 
first drives it was quite startling to 
see our coachman suddenly remove 
his head-gear, fling back his shock of 
hair, and cross himself, while the 
horses went on their own way, evi- 
dently accustomed to the devotion 
of their drivers. In most of the 
shops Ikons are placed in a conspic- 
uous position, with lighted lamps 
hanging before them. Strangers are 
expected to pay some reverence ; 
while standing before them a man 
must remove his hat or meet with a 
reproof, for outwardly the Russians 
are undeniably devout. In every 
cathedral is a shrine containing the 
emblematical tomb of our Lord ; 
this consists of a large silver or gold 
ornamented casket with a glass top, 
painted on the under-side with a 
life-size figure of Christ. They are, 
of course, considered verv holv. and 



The Great Cathedral. 81 

on Easter and Christmas eve the top 
with the painted figure is carried 
into the centre of the church and 
there worshipped and kissed by 
thousands of people. The incense 
swung by the archbishop has a pun- 
gent and delicious odor. After the 
service, the officiating priest takes a 
small cross down among the people, 
who scramble and push to get an 
opportunity to kiss it. We saw 
some forlorn babies baptized after 
the Sunday-morning service, and it 
was quite harrowing to see the rough 
way they were held by an assistant 
while with a spoon the priest forced 
some of the noxious holy water down 
their throats. When in England 
Peter the Great was much pleased 
with the tall old-fashioned clocks 
and ordered one placed in each 
church in St. Peterburg, where they 
still remain in droll contrast to the 
splendor of their surroundings. 



CHAPTER V. 

MORE CHURCHES, SHRINES, AND 

MONASTERIES — DRIVES ABOUT 

THE CAPITAL. 

Why do not more people go to 
Russia? That question kept recur- 
ring to my mind all through those 
pleasant days spent in the wonderful 
country. Why do tourists so con- 
tinually choose the beaten tracks of 
travel, content often to spend much 
time in London and Paris shops ? 
Not that shops are to be despised, — 
far be it from me to suggest that, 
— but there are so many countries 
of such absorbing interest and the 
beauties of which are unknown to 
most of us, that the taste for travel 
and adventure is not at all difficult 
to acquire. My ideas concerning 



More Churches. 83 

Russia were vague. I thought of a 
vast country in which there might 
be much of interest, but had formed 
no idea of the stupendous amount 
of sight-seeing one could enjoy in 
St. Petersburg and Moscow. While 
we accomplished a great deal, I 
feel a strong desire to return and 
settle down for three or four months 
in order to go about leisurely and 
see more of the social life, which can 
only be enjoyed in the winter. 

After a good night's rest, we were 
ready to begin our adventures early 
the following morning after our ar- 
rival. The w T eather was superb and 
we were impatient to be off. Pilly 
systematized our arrangements, and 
we found no fatigue in carrying 
them out. A smart landau with a 
pair of excellent black horses held a 
happy party, and off we started down 
the Nevski, which is a broad, clean 
avenue, three miles long. Churches 



84 Land of the Viking. 

and shrines innumerable we wished 
to visit, but were forced to content 
ourselves with a few of the finest. 
The Kazan cathedral, on the Nevski, 
is a large, imposing building, a copy 
of St. Peter's at Rome, with which 
it compares rather unfavorably. The 
interior is gorgeous with monoliths 
of Finnish granite, Ikons, and candle- 
sticks of great beauty. The Ikonas- 
tas or screen and balustrade, are made 
of solid silver, which was an offering 
from the " zealous don Cossacks" 
after Napoleon's retreat from Mos- 
cow. In the centre of the screen is 
a design in precious stones. 

To this cathedral belongs the cele- 
brated Ikon, called " Our Lady of 
Kazan/' one of the most valuable in 
Russia. It is set with myriads of 
precious stones of the finest quality; 
one huge sapphire, worth many thou- 
sand pounds, was an offering from 
a well-known grand duchess. Just 



More Churches. 85 

below this stone was formerly a per- 
fect diamond of great size. A story 
was told us of a princess who, while 
at her devotions, feeling the pangs of 
hunger, bit out the fine stone, hiding 
it under her tongue. The theft be- 
ing discovered, the clever Russian 
police soon found the culprit, and, 
after her tongue was torn out, she 
was exiled to Siberia. Moral : Al- 
ways go to service after a satisfying 
meal. In this same church are many 
flags captured in battle from Turkey, 
Persia, and France, and also huge 
keys of captured fortresses, which 
looked as if they might have belonged 
to a giant's castle. 

Driving past the Admiralty Square, 
we saw the famous equestrian statue 
of Peter, which is striking in its grace- 
ful and spirited pose ; the charger is 
crushing under his foot the serpent, 
emblematical of the difficulties en- 
countered and surmounted by the 



86 Land of the Viking. 

Great Tsar. Of other fine statues 
there are scores. Nicholas I. on 
horseback, Catherine II., and several 
others of emperors, generals, and a 
fine statue in the well kept summer- 
gardens to Kyrlof, the great Russian 
satirist and translator of La Fon- 
taine's fables. The work on the 
figure is excellent, and the pedestal 
well worth careful examination. On 
the four sides are representations of 
different fables, and the delicate carv- 
ing and tracery are done with the 
utmost care. 

Across one of the numerous bridges 
spanning the Neva we drove to the 
fortress, in which stands the cele- 
brated cathedral of St. Peter and St. 
Paul. The cathedral is of fine pro- 
portions, and the tall, slender spire, 
being heavily gilded, is dazzling to 
one's eyes. Nearly all the sovereigns 
of Russia, with their families, are 
buried here. According to the rules 



More Churches. 87 

of the Russian Church, the marble 
tombs are of the simplest description, 
those of the Tsars and Tsaritas being 
distinguished by the Russian eagle, 
in gold, on each of the four corners. 
The tomb of the martyred Tsar, 
Alexander II., is especially guarded ; 
the beautiful flowers with which it is 
covered are renewed daily in large 
cases, and all about the space allotted 
to the last resting-place of the late 
Tsar are scores of wreaths of laurel, 
silver and gold, sent by patriotic so- 
cieties and communities as tokens of 
loyal sympathy and regret for his 
terrible fate, which to us seems so 
undeserved and so cruel. I entreat- 
ed, and Pilly offered a bribe for a 
flower or two from a fresh wreath 
sent by the Emperor the previous 
day, but, true to his orders, the 
guard positively refused to allow it 
to be touched. Unfortunate mon- 
arch ! his terrible end was a base 



88 Land of the Viking. 

requital for his emancipation act, by 
which myriads of serfs were liberated. 
It gave us a thrill to stand beside the 
tomb of Peter the Great, that re- 
markable man who created the Russia 
of the present day, and to whose in- 
satiable ambition most of the glory 
of the wonderful country is due. 

Within this very fortress where 
the cathedral stands, Peter impris- 
oned his son Alexis and his unfortu- 
nate wife for treason, and, from the 
effect of tortures inflicted, the wretch- 
ed man died. While I feel a strong 
inclination to devote much space to 
the life and career of Peter, more 
has been written of him than any 
other character of Russian history, 
and so well written that it would be 
presumption in me to do more than 
casually allude to him. The small 
cottage where he lived while superin- 
tending the building of that vast city 
stands near the cathedral of Peter 



More Churches. 89 

and Paul. A building has been 
erected which entirely covers the 
cottage, to protect it from decay. 
One room, consecrated as a chapel, 
contains the most holy Ikon in St. 
Petersburg ; it is of great age, and 
the Russians believe it to have been 
painted by St. Luke ; the colors are 
very dark, and the face of Christ is 
haggard, showing traces of great suf- 
fering. It accompanied Peter in all 
his campaigns, and was held before 
the soldiers to increase their enthusi- 
asm, and they carried it at " Poltava/* 
which proved so disastrous a battle 
to Charles XII. and his forces. It is 
often sent to the bedside of sick 
people, accompanied by a priest, who 
prays to it for the afflicted one ; the 
price for visiting may be one or two 
hundred rubles, according to the cir- 
cumstances of people sending for it. 
In the room adjoining the chapel are 
numerous articles made by Peter's 



90 Land of the Viking. 

skilful hands : a large table, carved 
chair, stool, and candlesticks, also 
the boat he built and sailed. 

Proofs of the ignorance and super- 
stition of the people are seen in the 
large cases full of miniature arms, 
legs, heads, and even whole bodies, 
sent by sick people to be prayed for, 
and representing the part of the body 
afflicted ; offerings to the holy pic- 
ture accompanied the bits of silver 
bodies, consisting of lockets, rings, 
brooches, and coins innumerable. 
Service was being held while we 
were in the cottage, and two women 
were weeping bitterly ; evidently the 
prayers were being chanted for some 
dear one seriously ill, — perchance 
dying. 

The military cathedral of Preobra- 
jenski is large and imposing, and we 
were much interested in the fence 
surrounding it composed of cannon 
and chains taken from the Turks ; 



More Churches. 91 

within are many flags captured in 
battle. The pillars give one the im- 
pression of palm-trees, a lance form- 
ing each leaf. In a glass case beside 
the altar lies a fine sword with rusty 
scabbard ; it is the one worn by Alex- 
ander II. when assassinated, and alas ! 
the rust is caused by his blood. Near 
the case are uniforms belonging to 
him and his two predecessors. We 
drove to the American and English 
Embassies on the Palace quay, passed 
the Winter Palace and the homes of 
some of the Grand Dukes ; it is quite 
the most fashionable drive in winter, 
and must be beautiful with the 
frozen Neva on the one hand and 
magnificent architecture on the other. 
The bridges in St. Petersburg are 
especially worthy of notice, the y 
" Nicholas " being one of the finest I 
have ever seen ; it is broad and beau- 
tifully constructed. The town being 
intersected by arms of the Neva, 



92 Land of the Viking. 

there is need of numerous bridges. 
The crowd on the Nevski is cosmo- 
politan ; one can always see Rus- 
sians, Turks, Armenians, Jews, Poles, 
Greeks, and of course Americans. The 
few Russian women we saw attracted 
us very much. The street-car service 
is excellent in St. Petersburg, but 
drosky driving was so expeditious 
and cheap, that we did not use the 
trams ; besides, the people looked 
better at a distance than when we 
were crowded in a car. The shops 
are numerous and excellent, and filled 
with most attractive goods ; the work 
of the jewellers is fine, and we saw 
much and bought a little of the 
famous enamel, which is as beautiful 
as it is expensive. Russian leather is a 
misnomer; we tried unsuccessfully to 
find some in many shops, but at last 
Pilly enlightened us by saying: 
" Bless your heart, miss, there aint any 
Russia leather nearer than Austria." 



More Churches. 93 

The lace and embroidery we found 
reasonable and very effective, but 
oh ! the bronzes ; — those of my 
readers who visited the Centennial 
will remember the gorgeous display 
of bronzes, the designs are so fine 
and the work beautifully done. The 
great bazaar facing the Nevski, where 
ten thousand merchants are said to 
be engaged in business, looks as if it 
belonged to some Eastern city ; men 
of different nationalities are busy 
there, and, although small, the shops 
are filled with goods of every de- 
scription. 

A drive across the Neva to the 
famous islands outside the city gave 
us a little rest after the exhausting 
day. At sunset we were standing on 
the point of " Kammenoi-Ostrof " or 
" Stone Island," where many wealthy 
St. Petersburg families have their 
summer homes. The view was lovely 
and the clouds brilliant, and, wander- 



94 Land of the Viking. 

ing about the islands, we enjoyed 
the tranquillity of the place. There 
are few Russians who are without 
country homes, and in all the villages 
and towns within a radius of fifty or 
more miles, there are picturesque 
residences belonging to all classes, — 
nobility, gentry and tradespeople; 
but few of the houses can compare 
with the villas at Newport, Lenox, 
and Bar Harbor. 

The monastery of Alexander Nev- 
ski is one of the most celebrated in 
Russia. It stands at the extremity 
of the Nevski Prospect and occupies a 
large space ; there are seven churches 
within the grounds, and the cathe- 
dral built by Catherine II. is one of 
the largest in St. Petersburg. (The 
monastery was founded by Peter in 
honor of the canonized Grand Duke, 
whose name it bears, and who van- 
quished the Swedes and Teutonic 
knights in the thirteenth century.) 



More Churches. 95 

It is very finely decorated with mar- 
bles and precious stones ; the mag- 
nificent altar-piece is by Raphael 
Mengs, and there are excellent copies 
of Guido, Rubens, and Perugino. The 
shrine of Alexander Nevski is of 
massive silver, containing nearly four 
thousand pounds of pure metal, and 
magnificently wrought in various de- 
signs. In consecrated grounds about 
the monastery are buried many 
members of the wealthy Russian 
families, and large sums are paid for 
the privilege of burying the dead in 
such a holy place. The graves are 
very close together as the space is 
somewhat limited, and we saw many 
fresh flowers marking those graves 
most recently made. The crypt of 
the Cathedral of the Annunciation 
contains tombs of several of the most 
illustrious families in Russia ; they are 
very ornate, and the rarest marbles 
are used for the floors and walls. 



96 Land of the Viking. 

The place is so tranquil that the 
thought of death loses much of its 
terror. In striking contrast to these 
elaborate tombs, is the simple bronze 
tablet marking the last resting-place 
of the great General Suvaroff, who 
made the tablet with his own hands, 
inscribing it simply " Here lies Suva- 
roff." The singing by the monks of 
this monastery is celebrated, and we 
enjoyed the music intensely ; the 
singers have long, fair, crinkled hair, 
and their voices are wonderful. I 
never can forget the music we were 
privileged to hear in both St. Peters- 
burg and Moscow ; it almost made 
us forget the cares aud sorrows of 
life, and lifted our souls into a state 
of ecstatic enjoyment. 

" Now you 've heard the monks 
sing — don't you want to hear the 
nuns?" said our thoughtful guide, 
and of course we did. The drive to 
the convent was a long one, and after 



More Churches. gj 

we left the Nevski the pavements 
were rough and in rather bad condi- 
tion, but we saw much of the oldest 
part of the city and were on the 
direct road to Moscow. Just be- 
yond our destination stands the 
Moscow gate, from which the post- 
road starts for the old capital, four 
hundred miles away. We found the 
convent large, scrupulously clean, 
and very attractive. The singing was 
charming and the female voices har- 
monized well, but after hearing such 
fine singing by the male choirs we 
missed the deep bass tones which 
had so thrilled us. The Mother 
Superior was very gracious to us, 
thanks to Pilly, who evidently knew 
her, and who skilfully slipped a small 
offering into her hand while bowing 
profoundly. Certainly, he was re- 
markably clever in the way he took 
us to see the best of every thing, 
and his tips were much smaller than 



98 Land of the Viking. 

we would have dared to offer the 
lordly creatures who showed us 
about palaces and museums. Al- 
though Russia is distinctly a country 
of fees, through our guide's judicious 
management we found a very mod- 
erate sum covered all expenditure in 
that direction. We had anticipated 
much trouble in going about the 
city and fancied that sight-seeing 
would be attended with many un- 
pleasant red-tape details. I had 
visions of being followed by stern 
officials, stopped for explanations as 
to my purpose in visiting the coun- 
try, and eavesdropping on all sides, 
but, on the contrary, no place could 
possibly be pleasanter to go about 
in, and everywhere we met the great- 
est kindness and courtesy. One re- 
gret was ever in my mind, that we 
could not remain months instead of 
weeks in Russia. 

The hotel chambermaid evident- 



More Churches. 99 

ly considered water very harmful, 
whether applied outwardly or inter- 
nally, and a cold tub every morning 
filled her soul with horror, but finding 
I was firm, she overcame her scru- 
ples with the aid of a ruble or two. 
In most of the shops French is spo- 
ken ; but once or twice the Matron 
and Madame endeavored to shop 
unaided by Pilly, with disastrous re- 
sults to themselves. A very little 
Russian is of great assistance, and 
a few every-day phrases should be 
learned before visiting the country, 
for one feels so helpless hearing peo- 
ple speak in a language which is ab- 
solutely unlike any thing in Europe, 
Asia, or Africa, unless it might be a 
combination of all. 

The droskies in Petersburg have 
one peculiarity lacking in those in 
Moscow. As can be seen, they are 
very narrow and without sides or 
back ; add to this the most rapid, 



ioo Land of the Viking. 

reckless driving, and it is very easy 
to understand why the necessity 
arises for a man to hold fast the 
woman with whom he is driving. It 
looked very strange to us to see 
what might be called a still waltz 
going on in every drosky, but being 
the custom of the country, it lost its 
strangeness, and we soon became ac- 
customed to it. 

The broad avenues of St. Peters- 
burg must present a brilliant appear- 
ance in winter, being crowded with 
sledges and troikas driven rapidly 
and noiselessly over the snow. The 
driving is so reckless that there is an 
average of one person killed daily, 
but, fortunately, the law is not the 
same as in France, where any one 
run over is fined for obstructing the 
thoroughfare, and I suppose the fine 
is proportionate to the injury re- 
ceived. 




H. I. M. THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

DAYS AT TSARSKOE SELO AND 
PETERHOF. 

We spent a very enjoyable day at 
Tsarskoe Selo, the favorite summer 
residence of the late Tsar, but where 
the present imperial family never re- 
sides. The town from which the pal- 
ace takes its name is situated twenty- 
two versts from St. Petersburg. A 
drive of ten minutes from the rail- 
way station, during which we passed 
a mammoth orangery, of course, be- 
longing to the imperial estate, 
brought us to the enormous and 
imposing palace. At the main en- 
trance, which faces a large court, 
there were a number of lackeys 
standing to receive us. They wore 
the imperial livery of gray, trimmed 



102 Land of the Viking. 

with narrow bands of gilt and elab- 
orately stamped in black, with the 
double-headed eagle of Russia. It 
would be an interesting matter to 
know how many servants are em- 
ployed in the different palaces, as 
there are always so many standing 
about. Pilly told us that in the 
royal stables livery is provided for 
two thousand men, and at Tsarskoe 
Selo, where the grounds are very 
extensive and kept in perfect condi- 
tion, there are six hundred garden- 
ers working. 

At the entrance of each palace 
and governmental offices stands a 
major-domo whose appearance is 
very imposing, wearing a scarlet coat 
reaching the ground, with five small 
capes edged with the elaborate bands 
to which reference has already been 
made, a startling hat, and carrying a 
long wand of office. All these men 
knew Pilly, who is evidently a prime 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 103 

favorite, and great liberty is accorded 
him. The Royal Chapel, where we 
were taken first, is said to be the most 
ornate in Russia, and we accepted 
the statement without doubting its 
truth, for, although small, it is per- 
fectly gorgeous, — no other word will 
express it. Decorated in bright 
blue and gold, with paintings of the 
intensely high coloring so much af- 
fected by many Russian artists, in 
any other place it would seem dis- 
tinctly vulgar, but there the effect is 
not unpleasing. The massive gold 
doors of the Ikonastas are especially 
fine, and above is a striking decora- 
tion in gold. 

The balcony at the rear of the 
chapel was the favorite place of the 
late Tsar during service, and, stand- 
ing where he had so often been, we 
tried to imagine his feelings, but 
without success. Although it may 
reasonably be supposed that his 



104 Land of the Viking. 

trials were no less than those of the 
rest of mankind, it is fairly certain 
that the good and evil within him 
strove for the victory, as in mortals 
of commoner clay. At all events, 
the existence of a Russian Emperor 
cannot be an enviable one in these 
troublous times. A friend told us 
that the present Empress lives in 
constant fear of some deed of violence 
being done to her husband ; but for 
that terrible anxiety their lives might 
be so happy, for they, of all people, 
have in such profusion every luxury 
and pleasure this world can give. 

The state apartments at Tsarskoe 
Selo are, of course, magnificent be- 
yond description ; the famous amber 
room, worth I dare not say how many 
millions of rubles, is marvellous. The 
walls of this very large apartment are 
covered nearly to the ceiling with 
small pieces perfectly fitted, making 
a smooth surface of opaque amber ; 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peter hof. 105 

tables are inlaid with it, chandeliers 
ornamented with it, and all kinds of 
ornaments are carved from it ; in 
glass cases are small articles cut from 
the clearest specimen that I ever 
saw. A chess-board, with elaborately 
carved men, is of the most exquisite 
workmanship, and bears the closest 
examination. The furniture is cov- 
ered with brocade of the same color. 
All the amber was presented by 
Frederick the Great to Catherine II., 
that bold, ambitious, profligate wo- 
man, whose husband, Peter III., was 
strangled, probably by her order. 
However, with all her wickedness, 
cruel despotism, and reckless ex- 
travagance, Catherine did much to 
advance civilization in Russia. 

The lapis-lazuli room, containing 
tables, candelabra, vases, and numer- 
ous other articles of the same rare 
mineral, has a floor of ebony, inlaid 
with mother-of-pearl, making a splen- 



106 Land of the Viking. 

did effect. The bedrooms are hung 
with richest silks of different colors, 
one in rose-pink being perfectly ex- 
quisite. The bedroom of the Em- 
press Catherine . is decorated in an 
unusual way, having walls of porce- 
lain and pillars of amethyst glass. 
The large Chinese room, connected 
with the private apartments of the 
late Empress, is fitted up in superb 
style ; every thing was brought direct 
from China, the walls being made in 
sections for this especial room. The 
embroidered silk-hangings and furni- 
ture coverings are of the richest 
possible description ; beautiful vases, 
genuine lacquer-ware, brilliant em- 
broideries, and ornaments of all 
kinds are in reckless profusion. This 
wonderful room was formerly used 
for tea-drinkings, and is kept exactly 
as it was during the life of the late 
Empress. A number of inlaid tables 
holding rare china tea-sets are placed 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peter hof. 107 

about the room, and every thing 
seems in readiness for guests to ar- 
rive and refresh themselves with 
" yellow tea," and oh, how we 
longed for a cup ! The royal play- 
room is most unique, and fitted up 
as a gymnasium ; how my heart 
stirred at the sight of a small ma- 
hogany toboggan slide, polished to 
the highest degree of smoothness ; 
we were very hilarious when, sliding 
down on a square of red cloth, which 
takes one rapidly across the large 
room, and our enthusiasm won a 
smile from the serious lackey in 
attendance upon us. 

The palace contains hundreds of 
rooms, of which we saw a large num- 
ber ; they are all crammed with bric- 
a-brac of every sort, malachite tables, 
huge candelabra, vases, writing-sets, 
and clocks, all set in gold bronze. 
We examined rare porcelain, pictures 
and ornaments of all kinds until our 



108 Land of the Viking. 

brains and eyes were weary, and we 
longed for a pine table. The inlaid 
floors in all the palaces were the 
finest we had ever seen, and the 
massive doors were of gold, silver, 
buhl, bronze, and rarest woods, heav- 
ily carved. It seemed strange that 
so little attention is paid to the com- 
fort of bedrooms ; — where and how 
they sleep seems to be the last prob- 
lem the Russians consider. As for 
the innumerable servants, in palaces 
and houses of the nobility, they sleep 
on sofas, or the floor, just as it hap- 
pens ; there are as many as one hun- 
dred and fifty employed in one 
residence, each having a special duty, 
and always refusing to do any thing 
outside of that particular department. 
The private apartments of Alex- 
ander L, kept exactly as he left them, 
are of great interest. His simple bed- 
room contains a camp bedstead ; on 
a table are brushes, combs, shaving 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 109 

articles, and a pocket-handkerchief. 
In the room are his uniform, cap, and 
boots; the latter, being very long 
and narrow, are patched in several 
places. I have a confused recollec- 
tion of banqueting- and ball-rooms, 
having walls covered with gold and 
silver and filled with mirrors and 
a superb collection of rare vases. 
The large grounds, some seven- 
teen or eighteen miles in circum- 
ference, are laid out in the most 
elaborate manner, with pavilions, 
towers, Chinese village, artificial 
ruins, columns, statues, and many 
other strange devices. On the 
lake is kept a collection of boats of 
every description. 

During our stay in Petersburg the 
annual fete at Peterhof was held 
in honor of her Majesty's birthday. 
All business was suspended in the 
capital, every one taking a holiday. 
Unfortunately it started to rain late 



no Land of the Viking. 

in the afternoon, making it impos- 
sible to have the illuminations at 
Peterhof until the following evening 
(Sunday). The temptation to go and 
enjoy what we were certain would be 
a great spectacle proved too much 
for the Signorina and myself, so we 
started by the steamer at four o'clock, 
guarded by our faithful Pilly. The 
charming sail occupied about an 
hour, and arriving at Peterhof, Pilly 
hastened to secure one of the few 
good carriages at the wharf, but at 
an enormous rate, as on fete days 
Russian coachmen ask as much as 
they please, and generally get it too. 
What an amount of sight-seeing 
we accomplished that afternoon! 
Pilly certainly proved himself a 
model guide, never wasting a mo- 
ment, and always taking us to the 
most desirable places. First of all to 
the beautiful palace, where, on ac- 
count of the holiday, no one was 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 1 1 1 

admitted without a special permit, 
which, however, had been secured 
by our thoughtful courier. The 
Emperor does not live there, but 
has a magnificent summer residence 
some two miles distant, and where 
strangers are not allowed to go. The 
State Palace stands on a high ter- 
race, below which the fountains and 
innumerable devices for water ex- 
tend some hundreds of yards. As 
we drove through the long park be- 
fore reaching the palace, we saw 
some of the elaborate preparations 
made for the illuminations. Large 
frames of odd, artistic designs, cover- 
ed with small colored glasses, each 
holding a candle, were on either side 
of the road. By the way, our ex- 
pectations as to the beauty of the 
display were naturally high, as we 
had been told that the Tsar had 
given one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand rubles, or sixty thousand dollars, 



H2 Land of the Viking. 

for one evening's illumination. We 
were charmed with the palace ; in 
striking contrast with many others it 
seemed very home-like, and excellent 
taste was displayed throughout. At 
the entrance, with a dozen or more 
lackeys, stood one of the Tsar's eight 
Nubian footmen ; being very tall and 
very black, dressed in Eastern cos- 
tume, he was an imposing figure. The 
halls and staircases were beautifully 
decorated with ferns, palms, and other 
plants. The suite of rooms occupied 
by the Kaiser during his late visit 
were very cheerfully and exquisitely 
fitted up. Trying the couches and 
chairs, we found them most lux- 
urious, all being stuffed with eider- 
down. Room after room we passed 
through, all containing beautiful 
articles of the rarest description. 
The dressing-room has the most 
exquisite mirrors, and toilet arrange- 
ments of Dresden china, which look- 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 113 

ed much too delicate and fragile 
for a man's use. Among the most 
attractive of the hundreds of rooms, 
the White Banquet-Hall stands pre- 
eminent. Large, with marble walls, 
white enamelled furniture, uphol- 
stered in white brocade velvet, with 
hangings of the same, marble tables 
scattered about, the only color be- 
ing in the chandeliers, which are 
of amethyst crystal, the effect of 
the room is dazzlingly beautiful. 
One highly interesting apartment 
contains a collection of over eight 
hundred female portraits, painted by 
order of Catherine II., by Rotari, 
who made a journey through Russia 
for the purpose of finding different 
models. They are all beautiful girls 
in picturesque national costumes, 
and one is impressed with the in- 
ventive genius of the artist who was 
able to give a different expression to 
so many faces. 



1 14 Land of the Viking. 

The ornamental water-works are 
of the most elaborate description. 
The garden is laid out in terraces 
adorned with devices of every kind ; 
they are considered to be but little 
inferior to those at Versailles. The 
cascades are beautiful in the day- 
time, but at night, when illuminated 
with colored lights from underneath, 
it was like fairy-land. The English 
Palace, so-called on account of the 
gardens which belong to it having 
been laid out by a landscape gardener 
brought from England for the pur- 
pose, is a square, unpretentious 
building, now used for drilling boys 
for the royal choir. In one room 
there is a spirited portrait of Cath- 
erine the Great on horseback, in 
male attire, at the head of her army, 
and also one of Elizabeth, attended 
by a negro runner. 

A French villa a mile distant from 
the park, stands in the midst of a 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 1 1 5 

fine garden, where the flowers were 
growing luxuriously. At the back 
of the villa the grounds are elabo- 
rately laid out, and although small 
the plan is charming. The house is 
furnished a la Louis Seize, the bro- 
cade hangings being of delicate and 
appropriate colors, the doors are in- 
laid with Sevres china, and there is 
much to admire in the ornamenta- 
tion of the house. Every thing is in 
order, should their Majesties choose 
to step in and stay for a day or two, — 
even the delicate china is in readi- 
ness, and being designed for this 
villa is of course in keeping with the 
prevailing style. 

The model cottage within the 
park limits is a small two-story pic- 
turesque building, a fac-simile of 
what a peasants home should be, 
but from the reports of the abject 
poverty of many Russian subjects, it 
is probably only an ideal home. The 



1 1 6 Land of the Viking. 

simple wooden furniture is of artistic 
design ; the blue and white china and 
plain glass are thoroughly appro- 
priate, and ready for use. 

In several of the rooms are dis- 
played many bread-trenchers and salt- 
boxes of carved wood, presented to 
different Tsars when visiting small 
towns and villages in the empire. 
The Russian custom is to offer a 
freshly baked loaf of bread on the 
trencher, the small box filled with 
salt being laid on top of the loaf, — a 
very hospitable and attractive wel- 
come it seems to me. The straw 
cottage, a favorite resort of Cath- 
erine II., is a most deceptive build- 
ing. The exterior is small, and 
before going in we supposed the 
rooms would be tiny, but to our 
surprise the entrance hall seemed 
enormous, and we found it was due 
to the ceiling and walls being lined 
with mirrors. The artificial vines 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 117 

trained over the walls successfully 
simulate real foliage. Catherine, 
accompanied by a few favorites, went 
often to this charming cottage for 
tea on summer afternoons, all court 
formalities being laid aside. We 
heard much about this Empress' ex- 
travagance ; there seemed to be no 
limit to her goodness to favorites, 
but to those unfortunate enough to 
incur her displeasure, she spared no 
torture. Prince Potemkin, for a long 
time her lover, had unbounded influ- 
ence over this bad but brilliant 
woman, and the amount of money 
she squandered upon him was per- 
fectly fabulous. 

We were charmed with the small 
mill where Nicholas and his children 
often went and played at humble life, 
although not with such an extreme 
affectation of simplicity as Marie 
Antoinette and her court at Trianon. 
A Pompeian villa we of course en- 



1 1 8 Land of the Viking. 

joyed seeing every detail being cor- 
rect. On a high elevation stands 
the beautiful Belvedere. It is built 
in the Greek style, of gray granite 
with Ionic columns of white mar- 
ble. One has from this pavilion 
an extensive view of the sur- 
rounding country, which is some- 
what picturesque. Some very fine 
statuary stands at the entrance. 
There is a comfortable elevator in- 
side, but only for royal use. The 
rooms are well appointed, the fur- 
niture and china being especially 
designed for the building. 

Two small islands in the lake, the 
Empress and the Olga, are reached 
in an unique manner. A square, 
wooden platform, holding four chairs, 
is pulled to and fro by ropes passing 
through rings on the top of iron 
posts, one being at each corner of 
the platform. They are worked by 
two men-of-war's men in the Russian 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 1 1 9 

naval uniform. We enjoyed this 
novel experience, and after reaching 
the Empress isle, we found the so- 
called summer-house a picturesque 
villa, perfect in all its appointments; 
the china, decorated with sea-weed, 
and with handles and feet of coral, 
was in keeping with the island. 
Flowers were plentiful, and we picked 
some of the largest pansies I have 
ever seen ; a thriving tree is growing 
from an acorn taken from George 
Washington's grounds, and present- 
ed to Nicholas I. by a brother of 
Charles Sumner. Near by is the 
cottage of Peter the Great — a square, 
unpretentious building, containing 
much of his clothing and furniture. 

We were not allowed to enter 
Montplaisir, a low Dutch summer- 
house, as preparations were being 
made for the royal party to drink 
tea there after driving about to see 
the illuminations. By eight o'clock 



1 20 Land of the Viking. 

it was growing dark, and needing 
some rest after so much sight-seeing, 
we ventured to partake of a Russian 
dinner before going out to see the 
grand display. We were told that 
the lighting of the various devices 
required eighteen hundred men 
working steadily for more than half 
an hour. 

After dinner we started to walk 
through the park ; the crowd was 
great, and a multitude of peasants in 
national costumes made a pictu- 
esque effect ; there was perfect order 
among the tens of thousands of ex- 
pectant people. To give any ade- 
quate idea of the grandeur of the 
display would require pages of high- 
flown language with adjectives ad 
nauseam. It was one's idea of fairy- 
land, and now the evening seems like 
an entrancing dream. Standing on 
the terrace in front of the palace, we 
looked down upon fountains, cascades, 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 121 

and artificial streams all lighted from 
below with various colors. At the 
end of this long avenue of water was 
an enormous sun with the imperial 
cipher in the centre ; probably this 
design was made of tin, but illumi- 
nated with the strongest electric 
light it resembled a mass of diamonds ; 
the effect of this shining on the 
water was dazzling. On each side of 
the broad walk were frames of vari- 
ous shapes, stars, crescents, crosses, 
and geometrical designs, all blazing 
with colored lights. In the great 
fountain Sampson, so called from a 
large bronze figure tearing open the 
jaws of a lion, from which rushes 
a stream eighty feet high, the color 
of the water was constantly chan- 
ging, making a grand effect. Marly, 
Peter's cottage, seen across the minia- 
ture illuminated lake, looked as if built 
of the palest yellow alabaster ; the 
way in which this plain little house 



122 Land of the Viking. 

was lighted seemed to transform it 
into a fairy palace. Why continue 
the details of the wonderful ensem- 
ble; the scene could not be surpassed 
in beauty, and we walked about as in 
a dream. In some places the effects 
were so exquisite, that I could only 
look stupidly before me and pinch 
myself to find out whether I was 
really in the flesh or transported to 
the realm of fancy. We were in a 
state of expectancy, knowing that 
the Emperor and Empress were 
driving through the park, and we 
waited to see them near the middle 
of the long avenue where the Tsar's 
Circassian body-guard was stationed. 
Few precautions for the safety of the 
royal party were taken, except that 
the way was kept clear by this singu- 
larly handsome corps of soldiers 
dressed in their national uniform. 
The thousands of people lining both 
sides of the avenue waited patiently 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peter hof. 123 

for a sight of their majesties, and 
after a few moments of expectation 
we heard cheer after cheer from the 
direction in which they were coming. 
We had an excellent position near the 
road and could see very well. 

Soon two big English breaks came 
in sight, followed by several smaller 
traps. In the first were the Emperor, 
Empress, their children, and near 
relatives ; the second was occupied 
by friends, and the carriages by ladies 
and gentlemen of the court. The 
breaks were each drawn by eight 
horses with postilions and outriders 
in scarlet and gold. The crowd dis- 
played great enthusiasm and we were 
delighted to have seen the imperial 
party. We looked at the approach 
to Montplaisir, which of course was 
beautifully lighted and decorated, 
making a brilliant effect through the 
trees. The music by several military 
bands stationed through the park 



124 Land of the Viking. 

was excellent, and some stirring airs 
from Glinka's " Life for the Tsar," 
were enthusiastically appreciated by 
the dense throng of people. All 
through the park the display was 
elaborate, and after walking miles 
and seeing much that was novel, we 
left for the railway station at eleven 
P.M., when the fireworks were com- 
mencing. We had abundant oppor- 
tunity to rest and talk over the 
pleasures of the excursion ; as the 
train being delayed we did not reach 
our hotel until two o'clock on Mon- 
day morning, so we did not desecrate 
Sunday by returning on that day. 
How fine it all was ! We considered 
ourselves lucky in having seen the 
display, and in a feeble way we began 
to realize how great the power of the 
Tsar is. Every thing belongs to him, 
and from infancy the heir-apparent is 
taught that he is the sole ruler of the 
empire, and to his will all must bow; 



Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. 125 

he is reverenced by the masses as a 
God, and there is no possibility of 
giving an adequate idea of his riches 
of palaces and villas ; he has at least 
half a hundred, all filled with the 
most rare and expensive articles. 



CHAPTER VII. 

A GLIMPSE OF THE HERMITAGE. 

How shall I be able to do even 
slight justice to the Hermitage, that 
wonderful museum, conceded by an- 
tiquarians and scholars to contain the 
richest treasures ever accumulated in 
one place. Founded by Catherine 
II. in a small pavilion attached to 
the Winter Palace, it was enlarged by 
her in order to furnish room for the 
vast collection of fine pictures which 
it contains. The Empress used the 
Hermitage as a refuge from the cares, 
responsibilities, and formalities of her 
position ; her evenings were spent 
there, and she gathered about her 
artists, poets, men of letters, philoso- 
phers, wits, and musicians. Certain 
rules observed by the privileged fre- 




THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 127 

quenters of the Hermitage are so 
apt, that I will insert them here : 

" I. Leave your rank outside as well 
as your hat, and especially your 
sword. 

" II. Leave your right of prece- 
dence, your pride, and any similar 
feeling out-side the door. 

" III. Be gay, but do not spoil any 
thing; do not break or gnaw any 
thing. 

" IV. Sit, stand, walk, as you will, 
without reference to anybody. 

" V. Talk moderately, but not very 
loud, to make the ears and hearts of 
others ache. 

"VI. Argue without anger and 
without excitement. 

"VII. Neither sigh, nor yawn, nor 
make anybody heavy. 

" VIII. In all innocent games 
whatever one proposes, let all join. 

" IX. Eat whatever is sweet and 
savory, but drink moderately, so 



128 Land of the Viking. 

that each may find his legs on leav- 
ing the room. 

" X. Tell no tales out of school ; 
whatever goes in at one ear must go 
out of the other before leaving the 
room. 

" A transgressor against these rules 
shall, on the testimony of two wit- 
nesses, for every offence drink a glass 
of cold water, not excepting the 
ladies, and further read a page of 
' Telemachiade ' aloud. Whoever 
breaks any three of these rules dur- 
ing the same evening shall commit 
six lines of the * Telemachiade ' to 
memory ; and whoever offends against 
the tenth rule shall not be again ad- 
mitted/' 

The building is very imposing, and 
for beauty and costliness scarcely 
equalled in Europe. It forms a great 
parallelogram 515 by 375 feet, with a 
magnificent entrance. The vestibule, 
is upheld by ten caryatides twelve or 






A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 129 

fifteen feet high, cut from granite, 
with statues of sculptors, artists, and 
painters, are placed in niches, and 
you enter a great hall supported by 
the usual colonnade of beautiful 
pillars cut from Finland granite. 
Now that we have passed the en- 
trance, I hardly know where to be- 
gin. Those of my readers who have 
been privileged to visit this wonder- 
ful place will appreciate how difficult 
it will be to give an adequate idea of 
the vast collection of statuary, paint- 
ings, jewels, coins, and antiquities, 
which it contains. It seems to me 
that a knowledge of the contents of 
this vast museum would constitute 
a liberal education. 

To the rooms filled with the Kertch 
collection we went first ; it is said to 
be the most remarkable and unique 
in the world. Found in the Cim- 
merian Bosphorus, it proves the ex- 
istence of Greek colonies six hundred 



130 Land of the Viking. 

years before the birth of Christ. A 
sarcophagus, made of cypress and 
yew, with skeleton probably depos- 
ited twenty-two hundred years ago, is 
in a remarkable state of preservation, 
and the vermilion coloring of some 
of the ornaments can still be traced. 
Cases line the walls and fill the 
rooms, containing rare coins, medals, 
jewels of every kind, and of such 
delicate workmanship that it seems 
as if they could not have been made 
by human hands. Among the Gre- 
cian curios is an old helmet, which 
still contains the head of the owner, 
the cracked skull and injured helmet 
indicating that a stone was thrown 
with tremendous force from a sling, 
which expeditiously ended the life of 
the warrior. The delicate tracery of 
the goldsmith's work surpasses in 
beauty any thing of the present day ; 
and there is such a bewildering col- 
lection that one is at a loss where to 
begin looking. There are many 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 131 

terra-cotta toys found in children's 
tombs, household utensils, vases, 
lamps, iridescent glass, rare scarabei, 
and various ornaments for men 
and women. The most valuable case 
is in the room containing treasures 
of a priestess of Ceres. The trap- 
pings of her horses were buried with 
her, also sandals, exquisite repousde 
looking-glass of bronze, gilt bracelets, 
buttons, necklace, and diadem, all 
used by her. There is also an exten- 
sive collection of Scythian, Siberian, 
and Russian antiquities. In the 
numismatic collection of over 200,- 
000 specimens are many coins of an- 
cient Greece and Rome ; three large 
cases are filled with old English 
coins, among them some belonging 
to the days before the Roman Con- 
quest. Two gems, perhaps the finest 
and most important extant, are 
signed " Dexamenos," and their de- 
sign is a heron flying. 

It was a source of genuine repret 



132 Land of the Viking. 

that we could not spend more time 
among these relics of by-gone days. 
When of such interest to us, what an 
absorbing delight they must be to 
the classical scholar. We lingered 
among those wonderful antiquities, 
until Pilly exclaimed in a tone of 
despair: " Ladies and gentleman 
and Miss, the Hermitage closes at 
three, and you have seen nothing 
yet." He took a keen delight in 
showing us special objects in each 
collection, and always selected the 
most interesting. 

Now for the armory, filling, I 
think, eight or nine rooms. It is by 
far the finest collection in the world, 
and we were told that it would equal a 
combination of all similar displays in 
Europe. Its value is beyond computa- 
tion. There is every kind of armor 
for man and horse, ancient and mod- 
ern, heavy and light, ornate and sim- 
ple, Persian, Indian, Japanese, Bokha- 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 133 

rian, Albanian, German, French, Tar- 
tar, Arabian, Polish, and Italian. A 
huge Scandinavian war-trumpet in- 
terested us. Having been so recently 
in " the land of the Viking," every- 
thing connected with that grand 
country, and especially with the days 
of so long ago, had a fascination for 
us. Of firearms there are every con- 
ceivable kind and from various coun- 
tries, — poisonous daggers from the 
East, scimitars, Italian stilettos, and 
swords by the hundreds, some with 
scabbards entirely encrusted with 
diamonds and other precious stones, 
with the hilts a mass of glittering 
gems ; room after room it was the 
same story. 

Two sets of horse trappings, pre- 
sented by the Sultan to Nicholas L, 
one after the treaty of Adrianople in 
1829, and the other in 1833, are °f 
royal magnificence. The first we 
could scarcely believe genuine velvet 



1 34 Land of the Viking. 

saddle-cloth studded with diamonds, 
bridle, pistol holsters, and gold stir- 
rups all set with the same precious 
stones, but the second stupefied us. 
Saddle-cloth and bridle are a mass of 
brilliants of the purest water, while 
the brightness of those on the pistol 
holsters is perfectly dazzling, and it 
is worth a king's ransom. 

When satiated with gems and the 
magnificent armor, we betook our- 
selves to the galleries, little realizing 
what a treat was in store for us. 
There are seventeen hundred paint- 
ings by the best masters of the 
Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, 
Flemish, and German schools ; also 
it is said to be the only gallery on 
the Continent with a collection of 
English pictures. It is especially 
rich in Flemish and Spanish works, 
including many Murillos, Velasquez, 
Rubens, Van Dycks, Teniers, Vander- 
helsts, Rembrandts, Wouvermans, 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 135 

Paul Potters, etc. Raphael's frescos 
fill two rooms, and were purchased in 
1 861 with the Campana Museum in 
Rome. In each of the eight rooms, 
in addition to the pictures, are many 
magnificent vases, tables, and cande- 
labra of rare Siberian minerals, many 
pieces of malachite, all of enormous 
size, set in gold bronze. The violet 
and ribbon jasper, we thought finest 
until we saw some large candelabra 
of rhodonite, a rare pink, variegated 
stone which is perfectly exquisite 
and cannot be purchased, being 
worked only in the royal manufac- 
tory for the use of the imperial 
family and given by them to friends, 
as are also several varieties of por- 
phyry and jasper ; these gorgeous 
ornaments alone are worth going 
miles to see, and these rare stones 
are to a great extent kept in Russia. 
It seemed to me that the workmen 
must have been possessed of great 



136 Land of the Viking. 

artistic talent, for the carving of 
them is done with consummate skill. 
So many pictures charmed us that 
merely to mention the names would 
be wearisome to the reader, but I 
must speak of a few which impressed 
me most. In the Italian school 
" Perseus and Andromeda/' by Tin- 
toretto, is exquisite in coloring. 
" David with the Head of Goliath," by 
Guido Reni, is a strong, dark picture. 
"The Virgin at School," by the same 
master, is a group of fresh, innocent- 
looking children. Carlo Dolci's" Saint 
Cecilia" is very pleasing. The princi- 
pal picture by Rubens is Mary Mag- 
dalene bathing the Saviour's feet. 
" The Expulsion of Hagar," also 
Rubens', is exquisite, but to me 
Vandervelde's treatment of the 
subject is finer, and is one of the 
most touchingly strong pictures in 
the Dresden gallery. In one of the 
rooms filled with Raphael's frescos 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 137 

is his famous " Virgin and Child," 
presented by Alexander II. to the 
late Empress on the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of their marriage, Leo- 
nardo da Vinci's " Holy Family " is a 
well-known work of great merit. 
Paul Potter's " Watch Dog " is per- 
fect ; the brilliant clear eye and mat- 
ted coat are remarkably executed, 
and the nine pictures by him are of 
great interest. Wouverman's numer- 
ous works are worth careful examina- 
tion. No. 1,017 is one of the very 
few pictures painted by him without 
the ubiquitous white horse. 

An allegorical picture, " The Infant 
Hercules Strangling the Serpents," 
painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds by 
order of Catherine II., represents the 
difficulties which beset the empire 
and were overcome by it. The Em- 
press was so pleased with this picture 
that she sent the artist a gold snuff- 
box and her portrait set in diamonds ; 



138 Land of the Viking. 

there are several other fine works of 
the great English painter. The col- 
lection of Rembrandts is of great 
interest, and as there are specimens 
of his work at all periods on many 
subjects, he can be studied here 
better than anywhere else. One of 
Peter denying Christ attracted special 
attention ; the light on the picture 
was from a candle, and the deep 
shadows seemed weirdly impressive. 
Rubens* " Descent from the Cross M 
is a repetition of the famous one in 
Antwerp, and of great artistic beauty. 
In a room devoted to game and 
fruit pictures is an exquisite marble 
" Cupid and Psyche/' of Canova. 
How clearly one can see the master's 
hand in all his works ; this exquisite 
piece is so natural that one would 
fain waken both figures with a kiss. 
In the French school Boucher, Wat- 
teau, Greuze, Nicholas Poussin, and 
Claude Lorraine are represented. 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 139 

Canova's " Hebe " is also in this 
apartment. 

A few words about the numerous 
Russian pictures and I am done. 
" Sunrise on the Black Sea/' " The 
Deluge," and " The Creation of the 
World," all by the celebrated marine 
painter Aivazofski, are strange and 
quite unlike the work of any other 
artist. The latter is the most extra- 
ordinary, and the chaos from which 
the world is emerging is indescribably 
weird. His work is strong and daring, 
and always recognizable even to a 
casual observer. Neffs flesh paint- 
ing is especially fine. The most 
striking picture in the collection is 
Briilow's " Last Days of Pompeii, " 
and is considered the most important 
work of the Russian school. The 
deservedly famous " Venus " of the 
Hermitage, a well preserved Greek 
statue found at Rome, is one of the 
most exquisite pieces of antique 



140 Land of the Viking. 

statuary found in Europe, and we 
were touched by its beauty. We 
greatly enjoyed Canova's work, so ex- 
quisite in its details, and the drapery 
on his figures has a peculiarly diapha- 
nous effect. A superb statue of 
Mephistopheles fills one's ideas of 
Satanic cunning. The position of 
the figure, the satirical expression, 
the tense muscles of fingers and toes, 
suggest extreme diablerie. Two fine 
pieces by Rauch — one of Voltaire, the 
other of Ivan the Terrible — are of 
great merit. 

Our time was too limited to en- 
able us to see the Library, with 
its rare engravings, manuscripts, and 
priceless missals. The collection of 
Greek and Etruscan vases is the 
most extensive in Europe, and the 
gallery of drawings contains twelve 
thousand works by eminent masters. 
The memory of Peter the Great is 
held in great reverence by the Rus- 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 141 

sians ; there are souvenirs of him 
everywhere, and we felt a strong in- 
clination to see all we could of the 
articles made and used by him. His 
gallery in the Hermitage is crammed 
with interesting things ; his strength 
must have been in proportion to his 
great stature, for the iron walking 
stick he carried we could barely 
raise an inch from the floor. We ex- 
amined his books, mathematical in- 
struments, lathe and carving tools. 
His effigy in a suit embroidered by 
his wife, Catherine I., is in the cen- 
tre of the gallery. An interesting ob- 
ject to us was a cast made of his face 
when alive ; the long hair and mus- 
tache are jet black. The horse he 
rode at Pultava, and several favorite 
dogs, stand in a glass case, but either 
the horse must have shrunken in the 
preserving process, or Peter must 
have had both feet on the ground 
when astride the fiery charger, as it 



142 Land of the Viking. 

is now not much taller than a Lower 
Canadian pony. He worked with 
many different materials ; turning, 
carving, and embossing, he tried them 
all. 

Just before we left the gallery, 
Pilly came toward us, saying in a 
mysterious whisper : " Come, follow 
me at once, don't speak, and try not 
to breathe more than is absolutely 
necessary. ,, Naturally we nearly 
choked in a mad endeavor to cease 
inhaling oxygen, and were quickly 
taken to the private state apart- 
ments, which are closed to the gen- 
eral public. This magnificent suite 
of rooms has a fine view of the 
Neva, and at different times has 
been occupied by the Prince and 
Princess of Wales, the Shah of Per- 
sia, and the late Emperor Frederick, 
when Crown Prince, with his wife. 
We were singularly fortunate in see- 
ing these rooms, which were in readi- 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 143 

ness for the Khedive's son, who was 
to arrive the following day. Fitted 
up with the greatest luxury, they 
are home-like and comfortable to 
the highest degree. Seeing the 
furniture uncovered, flowers placed 
all about the rooms, and even writ- 
ing materials laid ready, Pilly said 
" Ladies, you are very lucky ; I know 
every part of this place well, but I 
never saw these rooms when in order 
for royal guests, and in the twenty- 
nine years I have lived in Peters- 
burg I never before realized the 
gorgeousness of this part of the 
Hermitage." We were obliged to 
walk through these forbidden rooms 
very quietly, for fear the people 
in charge below would hear, and 
finding interlopers would probably 
have ejected us, if not by force, 
at least with a volley of Russian, 
which is unmusical not to say bar- 
barous in sound. The attendant 



144 Land of the Viking. 

lackey seemed to enjoy giving us a 
glimpse of forbidden grandeur. The 
low wide steps of marble connected 
with these beautiful apartments are 
covered with richest velvet. 

Returning through an ante-room 
we saw the celebrated clock in the 
shape of a large gold peacock with 
complicated works. Such a collec- 
tion of snuff-boxes, some of enamel, 
others of gold set with precious 
stones. One presented by the Sul- 
tan to the wife of Nicholas I. is 
covered with purest diamonds, and 
when sent contained a shawl. Think 
of the texture of a shawl which could 
be folded and placed in a snuff-box 
of ordinary dimensions. Numerous 
cases are filled with all kinds of 
gorgeous bric-a-brac. I have a cha- 
otic remembrance of ornaments of 
carved ivory, historical miniature 
dishes, of enamel toys of Catherine 
II., silver and gold curios from Japan 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 145 

and China, filigree ornaments, case 
of watches of various queer designs, 
bouquets of flowers formed entirely of 
precious stones, and the plume of 
Prince Potemkin, presented by a 
Sultan, — a mass of glittering dia- 
monds which almost dazzle my eyes 
in thinking of it. 

Such collections of rare articles of 
the greatest value we had never 
dreamed of, and when Pilly said, with 
a majestic wave of his hand : " Walk 
this way and behold ' ladies' de- 
light/ ' we were tempted to say : 
" No more, Pilly, no more.'* This 
so called " ladies' delight " was a 
case full of jewelled watches of 
artistic design and workmanship ; 
most of them were worn as chate- 
laines and encrusted with gems ; 
there must have been two hundred, 
and of course represented a fabulous 
sum. Some exquisite specimens of 
the lapidary's art included a walking- 



146 Land of the Viking. 

stick in jasper covered with dia- 
monds, also jewelled handles for 
umbrellas belonging to the Empress 
Elizabeth. Among the numerous 
pocket-books are some of shell en- 
amel, silver and gold ornamented 
with diamonds, and a few of the 
beautiful old Niello work now so 
rare. But I must cease ; if my readers 
are wearied I crave indulgence; the 
vast museum is so wonderful that a 
description, however brief one may 
endeavor to make it, must of neces- 
sity be lengthy. Among all the 
wonders of this vast collection none 
are more beautiful than the large 
ornaments before referred to of the 
rare Siberian stones, lapis-lazuli, 
malachite, porphyry, jasper, and 
rhodonite. 

Exhaustion followed our excit- 
ing morning, and we were glad to 
rest until six o'clock, when two 
American friends, residents of Peters- 



A Glimpse of the Hermitage. 147 

burg, came to take us to drive be- 
fore dinner. The Matron drove in 
a drosky with our senior host and 
found the national vehicle most com- 
fortable, and although in some re- 
spects the ride was novel. 

Think of a real " Rudder Grange " 
in Russia ! Sure enough, on arriving 
at our host's home, we found it a 
house-boat, moored to Petrofsky 
Island, and a great improvement 
upon the original, only Euphemia 
was absent, or rather had never been 
present, and the German Pomona 
was elderly and unmusical ; the novel 
way of living fascinated us. Rud- 
der Grange has two stories; the 
salon, containing a large organ and 
billiard-table, is a charming room. 
Sunset from the deck, or veranda, 
whichever you choose, was fine, and 
the situation of Rudder Grange com- 
mands a fine view of the Neva and 
harbor. 



148 Land of the Viking. 

Before returning to our hotel, we 
stopped at the Aquarium, and lis- 
tened to excellent orchestral music 
while we drank Russian tea, wishing, 
meanwhile, that the delightful even- 
ing was just beginning. The sheep- 
skin-clad moujik was lying on the 
door-step when we reached the Grand, 
and we felt a thrill of pity for those 
wretched men, whose duty it is to 
sleep all night outside the front door, 
all large buildings in Russia, whether 
public or private, being so guarded. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

OUR LAST DAY IN ST. PETERSBURG 

— SEEING THE WINTER PALACE 

— ON TO MOSCOW. 

THIS chapter is likely to be a suc- 
cession of adjectives, for the Winter 
Palace is a marvellous place, and, in 
its way as difficult to describe as the 
Hermitage. A huge building of red 
stucco, in which six thousand persons 
have lived at one time ; some writer 
speaks of the roof having been used 
for colonists, who lived there with 
their live stock in happy confusion. 
The palace fronts the winter quay ; 
in the centre is the imposing state 
entrance, used for balls and court 
festivities, and when the Emperor 
blesses the Neva in the winter, this 
entrance is thronged with officers, 



150 Land of the Viking. 

mighty officials, and the most exclu- 
sive of Russian nobility. 

This gorgeous religious ceremonial 
occurs during the festival of the 
Epiphany, and is accompanied by 
chanting choirs, tapers, and incense. 
" The Emperor," Bayard Taylor 
says, " performed his part bare- 
headed and uncloaked in the freez- 
ing air, finishing by descending the 
steps of an improvised chapel and 
well, and drinking the water from a 
hole in the ice." Far and wide over 
the frozen surface similar holes were 
cut, where, during the remainder of 
the day, priests officiated, and thou- 
sands of the common people were 
baptized by immersion. As they 
generally came out covered with ice, 
warm booths were provided for them 
on the banks, where they thawed 
themselves out, rejoicing that they 
would now escape sickness or mis- 
fortune for a year to come. Another 



Last Day in St. Petersburg. 151 

very interesting ceremonial is in the 
spring, when, after drinking a glass 
of water from the Neva, the Emperor 
declares the river open. 

The immense palace is four stories 
high, with a frontage of four hun- 
dred and fifty and a depth of three 
hundred and fifty feet. Its magnifi- 
cent appointments surpassed all we 
had seen. The pictures, filling nine 
or ten galleries, are chiefly by native 
artists, representing Russian victories, 
with portraits of famous generals. In 
the concert and banquet-halls are 
gold, silver, and enamel dishes, which 
have been presented by different 
cities with bread and salt to the 
Tsars. There are hundreds of these 
superb articles, arranged on large 
plush brackets, covering the spaces 
at each end of these rooms. 

The salon, decorated in white and 
gold, audience-chamber, rotunda, 
Peter the Great's throne-room, St. 



152 Land of the Viking. 

George's room, and St. Nicholas Hall, 
vie with each other in magnificence, 
and are all very large. The private 
chapel is especially ornate. The 
palace also contains a church, dedi- 
cated to a particularly holy Ikon, 
said to have been painted by one of 
the Apostles. We sat for a long 
time in her Majesty's boudoir, and 
the Madame played on the cabinet 
piano used by the imperial lady 
when in the Winter Palace, — which, 
by the way, was rather tinny and out 
of tune. The private apartments of 
their Majesties are those used by 
Nicholas I. and his consort, as the 
reigning sovereign never uses the 
rooms of his immediate predecessor. 
The simple suite used by the late 
Emperor is just as he left them ; in 
a recess is the hard camp-bed, upon 
which this unfortunate monarch 
breathed his last. The elaborately 
furnished apartments of the Duchess 



Last Day in St. Petersburg. 153 

of Edinburgh are as they were before 
her marriage, and we gazed at each 
other in the mirror which reflected 
her gorgeous bridal toilette ; her 
concert grand piano was the best 
instrument we tried in the palaces. 

Connected with these apartments 
is the private dining-room where the 
dynamite explosion took place in 
1880, and but for the tardy arrival 
of Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, in 
whose honor a dinner-party was being 
given, the catastrophe might have 
been more appalling in its results. 
The conspirators calculated that 
when the bomb exploded the dinner 
would have just begun, but, provi- 
dentially, the guest of the evening 
was long in making his toilette, so 
that it was fifteen or twenty minutes 
past the appointed hour when the 
Emperor, with his family, including 
the Duchess of Edinburgh, and his 
friends, was ready to enter the room, 



154 Land of the Viking. 

and at that instant the terrific ex- 
plosion took place by which eleven 
guards on duty were mortally hurt 
and over fifty soldiers and servants 
seriously wounded. What a fearful 
existence must be that of the Tsar 
of all the Russias, never knowing 
when he or his loved ones will be 
attacked in the most dastardly man- 
ner ! Surely no lasting good can 
come of these terrible evidences of 
nihilism, and granted that the abuses 
of Russian despotism are awful, it 
does not seem as if they could be 
righted by deeds of violence to those 
in authority. 

The grand marble staircase and 
entrance impressed us to such a de- 
gree that we were obliged to sit 
down and gaze about, feeling our- 
selves lost in this immense hall. 
" Pilly," said the Signorina, " how 
does this all look when entertain- 
ments are given ? " " Well, Miss," he 



Last Day in St. Petersburg. 155 

said, " when it 's all furnished, that is, 
lighted, carpeted, flowered, soldiered, 
servanted, and guarded, there 's noth- 
ing like it in Europe ; the uniforms 
of the officers and gorgeous gowns 
of the ladies can't be beat," and we 
believed him. " Come this way," he 
said, "and see her Imperial Majesty's 
Pompeenian bath-room," which proved 
to be too exquisite an apartment for 
use. 

Connected with the white and gold 
salon is a large winter garden and 
palm-house, with an extensive aviary, 
and is the most enchanting spot of 
all. Here Catherine resorted when 
most wearied, and was diverted in 
various ways. The large garden is 
filled with rare plants, and the walks 
about it are charming. A fountain 
plashing and birds singing made us 
long to rest in the quiet spot, but 
there was too much to see, so on we 
went. In the Empress' drawing-room 



156 Land of the Viking. 

are pillars, mantles, vases, and cande- 
labra of lapis-lazuli and malachite. 
This is one of the suite used by her 
Majesty when in the palace, which, 
however, rarely occurs. When the 
court is in Petersburg the Emperor 
usually resides in the Anitchkoff 
palace, on the Nevski, where he 
lived as Tsarevitch. In the study of 
Alexander II. are many gifts received 
by him on the twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of his marriage — fine pictures, 
silver ornaments, fancy work, screens, 
chairs, and pillows sent from different 
convents, all finely embroidered. The 
doors of this palace are noticeable, 
many of buhl, others with panels of 
the rarest Sevres, and those of gilt, 
silver, and bronze are carved. On 
the top floor, not far from the apart- 
ment of the Grand Duke Alexis, are 
three large rooms filled with priceless 
porcelain, Sevres, and Dresden in 
profusion, and specimens of the 



Last Day in St. Petersburg. 1 5 7 

rarest china and glass. We spent 
hours wandering about this interest- 
ing building, forgetful of lunch, 
packing, and notes to be cashed at 
the bank, for we were to leave St. 
Petersburg in the evening, and it 
was not to be expected that we 
would be able to tear ourselves away 
from the innumerable things we 
wished to see until we were turned 
out by the major-domo. The crown 
jewels are no longer on exhibition, 
being kept in a strong room on the 
third floor of the palace. We saw 
the door and the soldiers on guard, 
but the priceless ornaments were 
safely locked out of sight and reach ; 
perhaps it was as well, as we were 
satiated with magnificence. 

How sorry I was to leave St. Pe- 
tersburg. We saw a great deal, but 
could have employed a month profit- 
ably in sight-seeing. The traveller 
going to Russia for the first time is 



158 Land of the Viking. 

overwhelmed at the vast treasures of 
every kind which have been accumu- 
lated by Peter and his successors. It 
seems as though in some respects 
Russian civilization has reached its 
highest point, as in no other Euro- 
pean country has there been such 
enormous expenditure for works of 
art ; then, too, she has had the inex- 
haustible treasures of the East to 
draw upon. 

A procession of three droskies 
carried us to the station to take the 
8 P.M. train for Moscow. Pilly went 
in advance with the luggage, and 
when we arrived our sleeping com- 
partments were ready, and every 
thing was systematically arranged by 
this excellent courier. Through his 
management we were admitted to 
places that otherwise would have 
been closed to us ; he can always be 
found at the Grand Hotel, and seems 
to be on good terms with everybody ; 



On to Moscow. 1 59 

monks, priests, nuns, shopkeepers, 
major domos, lackeys, policemen, and 
drosky drivers seem to consider him 
a privileged character, and to have 
him for a guide was a great advan- 
tage. Our hosts of the previous 
evening said good-by to us after a 
pleasant drive on the Nevski. 

We found the sleeping carriages 
luxurious ; they are built after the 
style of the Mann boudoir car, but 
with much finer fittings, the first 
class being finished in mahogany and 
brass, upholstered in brocaded pale- 
blue plush ; some of the compart- 
ments are for two, others accommo- 
date four, and, being private, are to 
my mind preferable to the sleepers 
in America. In each car is a samo- 
var, and one can have a fresh glass of 
Russian tea at any moment. The 
railroads are under the management 
of the government and are in ex- 
cellent condition, but the long trains 



1 60 Land of Ihe Viking. 

do not make rapid time. At the 
stations there is a peculiar method 
of letting passengers know how long 
the train will stop. Five minutes 
before leaving a gong is rung con- 
tinuously, finishing with one sharp 
stroke ; three minutes latter this is 
repeated, with two taps ; this is for 
passengers to take their seats ; at 
the last moment the ring is repeated, 
finishing with three taps, and the 
train is off. 

We arrived at Moscow at eleven 
the following morning, after a com- 
fortable trip of fifteen hours. The 
country is uninteresting, being level 
and bare. The usual babel at the 
station filled us with a sense of our 
own helplessness, but spying a porter 
from the Hotel Dussaux with English 
letters on his cap, our troubles were 
over. We expected to find railway 
charges exorbitant in Russia, but 
the price for first-class tickets is not 



On to Moscow. 1 6 1 

high, and second-class is of course 
proportionately lower. The amount 
of checked luggage allowed each 
passenger is limited, and the excess 
charges appalling. So one should 
be content with a limited supply of 
gowns and bonnets, or else have 
numerous satchels, there being an 
abundance of room in the compart- 
ments, and no extra charge for hand 
luggage. The restaurants on the 
Russian railroads are good, but one 
must be endowed with superhuman 
power to order a meal, as the lan- 
guage is impossible to experiment 
in ; happily much of the food is 
placed on a large table where a 
choice can be indicated by signs. 
So no one need starve. The deli- 
cious tea is very weak, which is for- 
tunate, as the people drink it in 
quantities and at all hours. 

I have spoken of the railroads be- 
longing to the government ; we were 



1 62 Land of the Viking. 

told that Russia is the only country 
where Cook has not been able to 
establish a tourists' office, and no 
tickets can be purchased at the sta- 
tion until within a half hour of start- 
ing. The fare from St. Petersburg to 
Moscow including sleeper ticket is 
thirty rubles or $15.00, the distance 
being about four hundred miles. 
The road was built during the reign 
of Nicholas I., who ordered a line 
to be surveyed between the old 
and new capitals. The one submit- 
ted for his approval was circuitous, 
passing through many large towns, 
making the distance between eight 
and nine hundred miles. The Tsar 
was enraged, and, taking a map and 
a ruler, drew a straight line, say- 
ing that was to be the route, and 
of course his orders were obeyed, 
regardless of obstacles and expense. 
Moscow was the capital of the 
vast empire until the time of Peter, 



On to Moscow. 1 63 

who transferred the imperial resi- 
dence to St. Petersburg. What disas- 
ters have overtaken the wonderful 
old city ! Three conflagrations in 
the sixteenth century, the terri- 
ble plague in 1771, and finally the 
great sacrifice in 18 12 by the Mus- 
covites, who set fire to their beloved 
city sooner than have it fall into the 
hands of the hated French. For 
three days and nights the fire blazed 
and the inhabitants fled, taking with 
them as many of their belongings as 
they could carry. The Metropolitan 
took with his own hands three sacred 
images, the Virgins of Iberia, Vladi- 
mir, and Smolensk. 

Napoleon and his army advanced 
to the Sparrow Hills, whence they 
had their first view of this Ori- 
ental-looking city, with its count- 
less domes, spires, green roofs, and 
gay coloring, making a bizarre effect 
in the glowing sunlight. No wonder 



164 Land of the Viking. 

the wearied soldiers forgot their suf- 
ferings when the splendor of the city 
burst upon their gaze, and they felt 
they were to be the possessors of all 
the barbaric magnificence, and with 
renewed enthusiam they shouted : 
" On to Moscow ! on to Moscow ! " 
The story of the disastrous retreat 
of the French is well known, but I 
never realized the horror of the 
winter march until the statistics were 
told me ; — four hundred and fifty 
thousand men were sacrificed in that 
awful campaign ! How humiliating 
it must have been to the proud com- 
mander. When he reached Moscow 
and found the city deserted, he took 
up his residence in the Kremlin, but 
was obliged to flee to the Petrovski 
palace, two or three miles distant, 
until the conflagration ceased. His 
soldiers served him faithfully, but he 
basely deserted the army in its great- 
est need, leaving behind him com- 



On to Moscow. 165 

promising papers which were discov- 
ered in the pillow-slip on his iron 
camp-bed, now standing in the 
Treasury of the Kremlin. 

The long drive from the station to 
the Hotel Dussaux, over rough pave- 
ments, through narrow streets, past 
innumerable vodki shops and dingy- 
buildings, made us feel as if we were 
out of Europe. Moscow differs 
greatly from St. Petersburg ; it is dis- 
tinctly an Eastern city. The poorly 
dressed people seem more like Asi- 
atics, their sheep-skin garments look- 
ing as if they had never been new, 
and the moujiks seemed blacker, 
more unkempt, and of a lower class 
than in St. Petersburg. 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE WONDERS OF THE KREMLIN. 

RUSSIA is a cross between Oriental 
barbarism and European civilization, 
and Moscow represents much of the 
former element. There is a strange 
fascination about the old capital, 
where we found even more to see 
than in St. Petersburg ; but I will 
only refer to the principal sights. 

The Kremlin ! Ah, it is a world 
in itself ! The meaning of the word 
is not absolutely clear, but it is sup- 
posed to be of Tartar origin, signify- 
ing fortress. The walls, with five 
gates, are two miles in circumference, 
and the enclosure is crowded with 
churches, palaces, towers, arsenal, 
and treasury. Let us enter by the 
Redeemers Gate, having a miracu- 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 167 

lous Ikon of our Saviour suspended 
above it, which French soldiers and 
Tartar hordes unsuccessfully endeav- 
ored to destroy. This is a holy en- 
trance, and all men must uncover 
their heads when passing through 
the archway, and even the Emperor 
is expected to conform to this un- 
written law. 

First, to the treasury, — a huge 
building filled with valuable and 
rare objects : old armor of every de- 
scription, ornamented in the most 
costly manner ; fire-arms, standards, 
captured flags and colors, including 
those of the Streltsi, Peter's guard, 
who, instigated by Sophia, sister of 
the Tsar, revolted, but were crushed 
by Peter, who, with his own hand, 
beheaded twenty of the rebels. Not- 
withstanding her protestations to the 
contrary, Sophia was declared guilty 
by Peter, and incarcerated in a con- 
vent for the remainder of her days. 



1 68 Land of the Viking. 

Some of her favorites were hanged 
outside the window of her cell, and 
the bodies left there for three months. 
The round room of the treasury con- 
tains a great number of crowns, 
thrones, orbs, sceptres, and swords. 
Of two superb Polish thrones, one 
has allegorical carving in ivory ; an- 
other, presented by the Shah of 
Persia to Ivan the Terrible, is stud- 
ded with ten thousand turquoises ; 
but the limit of lavish expenditure is 
reached in the throne used by the 
Empress at her coronation. It is a 
mass of precious stones, including 
eight hundred and seventy-five dia- 
monds, and twelve hundred and 
twenty-three rubies of the finest 
water. The crown of Peter is cov- 
ered with rarest jewels, as are those 
of the kingdoms of Kazan, Astra- 
khan, and Siberia. The most gor- 
geous one, however, is that made for 
Peter's wife, Catherine I., which has 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 1 69 

more than twenty-five hundred dia- 
monds, and myriads of other gems. 
Swords and sceptres, all studded with 
precious stones, made our eyes weary 
with their glitter ; it was the same 
old story. We were interested in the 
curious double-seated throne, made 
for Peter and his idiotic half-brother, 
who was crowned jointly with him. 
This throne has a concealed recess 
behind, where the unscrupulous but 
brilliant Sophia used to sit, in order 
to prompt her brother Ivan on im- 
portant occasions. 

In this room are large cases, con- 
taining the coronation robes of the 
Tsars and Tsaritas from Catherine 
I. to the present reigning sovereigns. 
They are all elaborate, but the mag- 
nificent mantles worn at the last 
coronation surpass the rest. They 
are four yards long, of cloth of gold, 
bordered with ermine, and having 
the imperial double-headed eagle of 



1 70 Land of the Viking. 

Russia elaborately wrought in the 
centre. Her Majesty's dress, of cloth 
of silver, with shoes of the same ma- 
terial, must be worth a fabulous sum. 
Robes of state of the Metropolitans, 
velvet and cloth of gold, are all gayly 
decorated. In a large room upstairs 
are many stands, filled with an enor- 
mous collection of gold and silver 
ornaments and household utensils of 
every description, not Russian only, 
but from all European countries, — 
jugs, cups, salvers, candlesticks of 
curious old designs, of the highest 
value ; some superb articles having 
been presented by the ambassadors 
of the Stuart kings. 

Not being satisfied with the score 
of palaces belonging to her, Cather- 
ine the Great planned a new one, a 
quarter of a mile in length, to be 
erected within the Kremlin, and built 
in the most costly manner, but she 
died shortly after the corner-stone 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 171 

was laid, and the project was aban- 
doned. An immense model of this 
stands in one of the rooms. We 
greatly enjoyed the extensive collec- 
tion of old carriages. A huge gilded 
one with painted panels was pre- 
sented to the Tsar Boris Godunuf, 
by Queen Elizabeth ; a miniature 
vehicle with mica windows was used 
by Peter when a child ; and one be- 
longing to the Empress Elizabeth 
was used as a dining-room during 
her journeys between Petersburg and 
Moscow ; it accommodated twelve 
or fourteen people. Many others, of 
gilt, with painted panels, are too 
numerous to mention. Here also is 
the camp bed to which allusion was 
made in connection with Napoleon's 
base desertion of his army, and which 
contained the compromising papers. 
The tower of Ivan is five stories 
high, having in each story a chime of 
bells, the finest being at the top. 



172 Land of the Viking. 

The view from this cupola is one of 
the most striking in Europe ; the 
climb is hard, and the four hundred 
and fifty steps seem interminable, 
but the reward is great. The river 
Moskwa, numerous buildings within 
the Kremlin, countless spires, towers, 
and minarets of silver and gold, the 
glorious green fields and country be- 
yond the city boundaries, make it a 
matchless vision. Napoleon and his 
marshals saw the striking panorama 
from this spot, and it is not surprising 
that he was strengthened in his de- 
termination to own it all ; but it was 
not to be. 

The great palace is a queer con- 
glomeration of different styles of 
architecture, various additions hav- 
ing been made. It now contains 
seven hundred rooms ; the modern 
portion is a repetition of the gor- 
geousness we had seen elsewhere, — 
ball-rooms, state bedrooms and dress- 



The Wonders of the Kremlin, i j$ 

ing-rooms, salons filled with a pro- 
fusion of the rare Siberian minerals, 
and enormous crystal vases and can- 
delabra from the imperial glass-works 
at St. Petersburg ; marble rooms, halls 
of St. George, Alexander Nevski, St. 
Andrew, and St. Catherine. The 
latter, where the coronation draw- 
ing-room is held, has superb pillars, 
mantels, and tables of malachite ; 
the inlaid floors are of finest wood, 
in striking designs. The large ban- 
quet-hall, where the coronation feast 
is held, has a dais in the centre, 
supporting a velvet-covered tower, 
on which the priceless gold and silver 
plate of the treasury is displayed on 
these brilliant occasions. The floor 
covering was made at different con- 
vents, in squares of a yard each, with 
arabesques of different colored cloth, 
appliqu£ed with gold thread, making 
a Moorish effect, in harmony with the 
superb decoration of the room. High 



174 Land of the Viking. 

up in the wall, opposite the imperial 
throne, is a broad window opening 
into another dining-room on the next 
floor for the use of the Emperor's 
relatives and friends, etiquette ex- 
cluding all but crowned heads from 
the lower room. What a superb 
effect this room must present at the 
feast, with its fine ornamentation and 
all the lavish display of the Russian 
court. Four private chapels are 
within the palace walls, and all are 
elaborate in their decoration. 

The most interesting apartments 
are those on the Terem, formerly 
used by the Tsaritas and their chil- 
dren. This antique part of the palace 
is four-storied, the first containing 
six rooms, but the number gradually 
diminishes until there is but one at 
the top. This queer place is reached 
by narrow, winding, carved stairs, 
and is over four hundred years old. 
The doors of iron fretwork and 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 1 75 

the low arched ceilings are highly- 
colored. Among the grotesque fur- 
niture is a carved bed, which be- 
longed to the grandfather of Peter 
the Great, with embroidered cover 
worked by Peter's sister, and is hung 
with Chinese silks, presented three 
hundred years since by ambassa- 
dors from the Celestial Empire. The 
chapel is quite dark and nearly 
empty. The profuse decorations in 
the Terem seem to be a mixture of 
Moorish and Byzantine, the colors 
being still bright. 

Standing at the foot of the famous 
red staircase, what reminders we had 
of some of the bloodiest deeds of 
Russian history ! Now it is only 
used by the Emperor at his corona- 
tion, and guards are stationed at the 
top and bottom to prevent ordinary, 
every-day mortals from even putting 
a foot on these stairs. It was here 
that Ivan the Terrible committed one 



1 76 Land of the Viking. 

of his most atrocious deeds. A trusty 
soldier was sent with a letter from 
one of the leaders of his army, and 
while hearing the letter read the 
Tsar transfixed the messenger by 
piercing his foot with an iron-pointed 
staff, upon which his Majesty leaned 
his entire weight. Down this same 
stair-case was thrown the body of the 
false Demetrius, and during the revolt 
of the Streltsi many noblemen and 
officers were here cut in pieces by the 
infuriated rebels ; and when Napoleon 
took possession of the Kremlin he 
proudly ascended these stairs ; so, 
naturally, we felt a keen interest in 
this historic spot. Ivan did not re- 
pent of his wickedness until a short 
time before his death, when, taking 
monastic vows, he endeavored to 
atone for his many sins ; but one 
cannot help being regretful that the 
change in his life did not occur until 
after he had killed his own son with 



The Wonders of the Kremlin, i J? 

a blow from his staff. His cruelty 
developed after the death of his 
dearly loved young wife, whose pow- 
erful influence had always been for 
good. 

After seeing the palace, treasury, 
and tower, we were glad to rest be- 
fore driving to the Sparrow Hills to 
dine. From the veranda of the res- 
taurant the superb view was a reve- 
lation ; a thunder-storm, followed by 
a rainbow shining through the haze 
over the picturesque city, made a 
charming vision. To see the Krem- 
lin thoroughly would require weeks 
of constant visiting ; we were forced 
to be content with much less time, 
but saw most of the churches within 
the walls. The Cathedral of the As- 
sumption, where the Tsars have been 
crowned from the time of Ivan the 
Terrible, is crowded with sacred 
paintings, shrines, golden banners, 
presenting a gorgeous appearance. 



178 Land of the Viking. 

In one of the small chapels are many- 
sacred relics, among them a piece of 
Christ's robe, a nail of the true cross, 
hand of St. Andrew, and several 
jaws and hands of other saints. The 
superstitious people believe implicit- 
ly in the genuineness of these arti- 
cles. Among the ecclesiastical treas- 
ures filling the sacristy is a portion 
of the true cross, set in a gold cross 
studded with diamonds, and was 
worn by Peter the Great at Pultava. 
The cathedral has five huge domes ; 
its walls are gilded, and on the screen 
is hung a miraculous picture of the 
Virgin, covered entirely with rarest 
jewels, worth over a quarter of a 
million of dollars. In one of the 
silver shrines reposes the body of a 
priest who suffered the death penalty 
for his temerity in publicly reproving 
Ivan the Terrible for his many crimes ; 
for which the church canonized him. 
What a splendid scene the corona- 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 1 79 

tion must be! The description by 
Dean Stanley is the most interesting 
and complete of any I have read, 
and he explains many of the symbol- 
ical acts ; the Emperor himself as- 
sumes the mantle, crown, and scep- 
tre, as he is the head of the church 
as well as of the state. 

The church in the wood is a small 
building not open to the public. It 
is one of the oldest churches in Mos- 
cow, and was built in the midst of 
the woods which formerly occupied 
a portion of the Kremlin enclosure. 
During Napoleon's stay in Moscow 
it was used as a stable, but is now 
restored. The Tsars are baptized 
and married in the Cathedral of the 
Annunciation, which is filled with 
the regulation lamps, shrines, fres- 
cos, and Ikons ; the floor is notice- 
ably beautiful, being paved with jas- 
per and agate ; but the relics in the 
sacristy are numerous, and seem to 



180 Land of the Viking. 

us almost more impossible than any 
others ; the principal ones are a por- 
tion of the sponge on which the vin- 
egar was offered to Christ, a portion 
of the crown of thorns, and a drop 
or two of His sacred blood. It was 
horrible to me to look at these highly- 
prized treasures ; there seemed to be 
an element of sacrilege in the idea, 
and yet the people firmly believe in 
them. 

In the cathedral of the Archangel 
Michael are buried many of the Tsars 
of the Ruric and early Romanoff dy- 
nasties ; the tomb of Ivan the Terrible 
is covered with a black pall, showing 
that he died a monk. One of the 
Ikons contains a drop of the blood 
of John the Baptist, which looked 
like a speck of ink. An object of 
great interest is the tomb of young 
Demetrius, son of Ivan the Terrible, 
who was torn from his watchful 
mother and assassinated when six 




"TSAR-KOLOKOL," OR KING OF BELLS, KREMLIN, MOSCOW. 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 1 8 1 

years old by order of Boris Godu- 
nuf, who became Tsar. His portrait, 
handkerchief, some toys, coins, blood- 
stained shirt, and the murderous knife 
by which he met his death, are all 
placed near his tomb, and beneath 
the glass top can be seen a half inch 
of his forehead, and scores of devo- 
tees continually kiss the spot of glass 
directly above the uncovered bone, 
or whatever it is now ; it resembles a 
scrap of untanned leather. 

Well does the "Tsar Kolokol" 
deserve its name " King of Bells " ; 
it is huge, and we walked around it, 
sat beside it, gazed at it, and won- 
dered at it. The figures on the out- 
side are of the Empress Anne and 
Alexis. Its height is over twenty-four 
feet, its circumference nearly sixty- 
eight, and its weight two hundred 
tons. It stands on terra firma at the 
foot of the tower of Ivan, and a large 
piece broken out of one side stands 



1 82 Land of the J 'iking . 

near ; its clapper, lying on the ground, 
looked as if it would require steam 
power to move it, and perhaps if 
rung the bell could be heard all over 
Europe. 

The sacristy was the last place we 
visited in the Kremlin, and, wearied 
with gorgeousness, we sat on the 
stairs to wait for the coming of the 
patriarch in charge, who was lunch- 
ing and would not be hurried. He 
was an imperious-looking man, a high 
church dignitary, and member of an 
aristocratic family, so we waited with 
patience. Rich sakkos. the Metro- 
politan's robes, fill two rooms : one, 
superbly embroidered, belonged to 
the [Metropolitan Peter, who lived in 
1300; another, of crimson velvet, is 
covered with pearls ; others heavily 
embroidered in gold and studded 
with precious stones are gorgeous. 
But the seven mitres surpassed all in 
richness and beauty; four belonged 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. 183 

to the famous patriarch Nicon, and 
are covered with large diamonds, ru- 
bies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls. 
In this sacristy is prepared every two 
or three years during Lent the holy 
Chrism, used in baptism in the Rus- 
so-Greek Church ; also the emperors 
are anointed with it when crowned, 
and it is used in the consecration 
of churches. It is prepared by the 
Metropolitan of Moscow, assisted by 
the highest dignitaries of the church. 
A large vase kept in a glass case con- 
tained the first Chrism sent to Russia 
from the East, on the introduction of 
Christianity into the empire. It is 
an exquisite object and made of 
mother-of-pearl. A few drops are 
taken out and a portion of the new 
Chrism put in, so that some of the 
original " sacred oil " is always there. 
This Chrism is composed of some 
thirty ingredients, — oils, spices, gums, 
white wine, and many other things, 



184 Land of the Viking. 

all made holy by the drop or two of 
the portion taken from the vase. An 
enormous silver caldron and two ket- 
tles given by Catherine II. are kept in 
the sacristy and into which the sacred 
mixture is poured when prepared ; 
then the sixteen large silver jars pre- 
sented by Paul I. are filled, and dif- 
ferent bishops send for small portions 
of it when required in their dioceses. 
The ladles, sieves, and every thing 
used for making the Chrism are of 
sterling silver. At the baptism of 
children the priest crosses with a 
small camel's-hair brush or feather 
dipped in the Chrism, the mouth, 
eyes, ears, hands, and feet ; " the eyes 
are anointed in order that the child 
may only see good, the ears that 
they may admit only what is pure, 
the mouth that he may speak as be- 
comes a Christian, the hands that 
they may do no wrong, and the feet 
that they may tread the path of vir- 



The Wonders of the Kremlin. i85 

tue " ; — good theoretically, but prac- 
tically impossible. 

Leaving the synodal building we 
bowed profoundly to the dignitary in 
charge, who vouchsafed us the least 
possible acknowledgment, looking the 
while as though he considered us far 
beneath his august notice. How we 
longed for Pilly, who succeeded in 
making the most austere custodians 
affable. 



CHAPTER X. 

SIGHTS OUTSIDE THE KREMLIN- 
ADIEU TO RUSSIA. 

ONE morning during our stay 
in Moscow we drove early to 
the Nova Devitchi Monastyr, or 
" New Maidens Convent," to see a 
procession of priests, monks, and 
novitiates, it being the feast day of 
the convenes patron saint. It was 
here that Sophia was imprisoned, 
died, and was buried, and being a 
long distance from the city and 
within high walls, she could not 
have had much diversion. We drove 
over the roughest of pavements, 
through narrow streets, passed great 
churches, some standing next dirty 
vodki shops or miserable squalid 
homes, and began to realize how 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 187 

great an area Moscow covers. Crowds 
were going in our direction, some in 
droskies, but mostly on foot, peas- 
ants in blouses with matted hair, 
women with babies and children of 
all ages, boys with lunch in dirty 
paper bags, — all hurrying to keep in 
advance of the procession. 

When within a mile of our desti- 
nation, we came upon tents with 
tables, samovars, cups and saucers, 
and all kinds of untempting-looking 
food. There must have been accom- 
modation for at least twenty thou- 
sand people. As our carriage could 
not be driven within a quarter of a 
mile of the gates on account of the 
density of the crowd, we walked with 
the mob, and while pushing our way 
to catch a glimpse of the procession, 
we saw enough of peasant life to 
satisfy us forever. Such dirt, such 
smells, cannot be imagined. I can 
see them now, — the women in ragged 



1 88 Land of the Viking. 

old frocks, with dirty kerchiefs on 
their heads, their coarse face un- 
washed, and long hair uncombed ; 
the men in sheepskin ; the children 
in, — well, next to nothing. Nuns 
were going about, and, finally, after 
a weary time of waiting, the proces- 
sion came in sight. Among the 
standards carried by the men were 
one hundred superb golden banners 
belonging to the Cathedral of.-the 
Assumption, which were so heavy 
that their bearers were forced to rest 
every twenty or thirty steps. 

It was impossible to find room to 
enter the church where service was 
being held, so without waiting to see 
the entire procession, we wended our 
way back to the cabs and drove to 
St. Saviour's, the newest of Russia's 
cathedrals. Erected as a thank-offer- 
ing for deliverance from the French, 
it was proposed to build it on the 
summit of Sparrow Hill, the spot 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 1 89 

where Napoleon had his first view of 
die city, and some of the foundation 
was laid, when it was discovered that 
the sandy soil would not support the 
vast edifice, and the unfortunate 
architect was exiled to the mines of 
Siberia, which seems an awful injus- 
tice in these enlightened days ; but 
the blame had to fall on some one, 
and this wretched man's life was 
b-irrhted, and he was forever cut off 
from civilization and his kindred. 
Would this have happened in any 
other country ? By the way, a woman 
whose husband is exiled to Siberia 
may consider herself a widow, and, if, 
she chooses, can marry again, but 
some, many indeed, go with their 
unfortunate loved ones and share all 
the horrors of their sad lot. What a 
living death it must be ! Although 
every one knew that the punishment 
of Russian offenders was severe, it 
has only been since the publication 



I go Land of the Viking. 

of Mr. Kennan's series of brilliant 
papers that the civilized world has 
been made acquainted with the ap- 
palling facts, and yet to us travelling 
as we did so comfortably without 
trouble and seeing only the bright 
side of every thing, it did not seem 
possible that these abuses could 
exist. 

In its way, St. Saviour's is as won- 
derful as St. Isaac's, to which it pre- 
sents a strong contrast. It is of 
course built in the shape of a Greek 
cross, — a mass of pure white marble 
and glittering gold dazzles one's 
eyes. The surrounding grounds are 
laid out elaborately, and flowers and 
shrubs were in luxuriant bloom when 
we saw it. Standing on quite an 
eminence, it can be seen from any 
part of the city, and has a new, fresh 
look, quite at variance with the other 
churches, and is kept scrupulously 
clean. Standing within the vast 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 1 9 1 

building, which will hold seven thou- 
sand persons, we felt ourselves lost in 
immensity. In the central dome is a 
remarkable and, to me, sacrilegious 
representation of the Trinity. God 
the Father is in the person of a be- 
nevolent-looking, elderly gentleman, 
the Son a beautiful child sitting 
upon his knee, and the Holy Ghost 
descending in the form of a dove. It 
was rather a shock to see a picture of 
the Almighty, and we obeyed the im- 
pulse to leave it. 

The walls are covered with rare 
paintings by eminent Russian artists, 
representing different saints, patri- 
archs, and apostles, and, of course, 
Alexander Nevski. On the Ikonastas 
the pictures are by Neff, and on the 
altar are some by Verestchagin, 
which are remarkably fine. All the 
artistic work is of high merit, and 
worthy of careful study. The gor- 
geous royal stand has beautifully 



192 Land of the Viking. 

carved marble chairs, upholstered in 
cloth of gold, for the use of their 
Majesties ; and the canopy is richly 
embroidered with the imperial arms. 
There are various Siberian minerals 
in pillars, floors, shrines, and candle- 
sticks. The galleries on either side of 
the altar are approached by stair- 
cases, with superb gilt balustrades ; 
the gold and enamel candlesticks 
are especially fine, being large and 
wrought in curious artistic designs. 
The music on Sunday was glorious, 
but not quite equal to St. Isaac's ; 
that could not be expected. During 
the service the procession of arch- 
bishop, priests, and deacons was 
very imposing; clad in gorgeous robes 
of cloth of gold and heavily em- 
broidered velvet, crowned with gem- 
studded mitres, their heavy coarse 
faces seemed in strange contrast. 

Just outside the Kremlin stands 
the Cathedral of St. Basil the Beati- 




< 

UJ 
CO 

UJ 

I 
I- 

_J 

CO 

< 

CO 

I-" 

CO 

u. 

o 

I 
o 
or 

I 
o 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 193 

fied, one of the most remarkable 
churches in Russia. It was erected 
by Ivan the Terrible, who was so 
delighted with the building that he 
ordered the architect's eyes put out, 
in order that he never could repeat 
the design. Certainly this cathedral is 
the most grotesque, impossible-look- 
ing building we saw. It has eleven 
chapels, in each of which service is 
annually held, in honor of the anni- 
versary of its patron saint. It is a 
rambling, queer, many-corridored old 
place, decorated within and without 
in the most glaring colors. Each of 
the eleven chapels is surmounted by 
a dome, no two being of the same 
color or design ; the architecture 
might be Tartar Byzantine, or, in 
fact, any thing. No accurate idea 
can be formed of its striking appear- 
ance from the accompanying uncol- 
ored illustration. Heavy chains and 
crosses, worn for penance by St. Ba- 



194 Land of the Viking. 

sil, to whom the cathedral is dedi- 
cated, are suspended above his tomb. 
The chapel dedicated to the Iberian 
Mother is the most holy of Russia's 
shrines, aud contains a miraculous 
Ikon of the Iberian Mother of God, 
brought from Mount Athos in the 
seventeenth century. The people 
believe the scar on the right cheek 
to be the result of a wound inflicted 
by an infidel, and which drew blood. 
On the head is a brilliant crown of 
diamonds and a net of rare pearls, 
while scattered all over the picture 
are gorgeous jewels. The chapel is 
visited daily by thousands of devo- 
tees, each leaving an offering, mak- 
ing the aggregate an enormous 
amount ; much money also being 
earned by taking the " Mother " to 
visit sick people, and in a superb 
coach, drawn by six horses, and at- 
tended by liveried servants, the Ikon 
drives about in state. Whenever the 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 195 

Emperor visits Moscow he drives to 
the Iberian chapel, and, leaving his 
carriage, prays for some little time 
before going to the Kremlin. It 
seems as if this must constitute a 
strong link between Tsar and people, 
for his Majesty's devotions are car- 
ried on before the sacred Ikon in 
the same way as those of the hum- 
blest Moujik. 

Outside the Kremlin walls is the 
Katai Gorod, or Chinese town, having 
six gates. Within are many interest- 
ing buildings, the Gostonni Dvor, or 
Great Bazaar, being the largest, and 
which monopolizes most of the trade. 
It is an enormous building, filled with 
small shops and passages bewildering 
to strangers ; the merchants are very 
shrewd, and, of course, ask exorbi- 
tant prices for their wares, and one 
needs to be very careful in making 
purchases. To us the shops were 
less attractive than in St. Peters- 



196 Land of the Viking. 

burg, although the jeweller's work 
was of the best. One of our most 
delightful experiences in Moscow was 
a visit to the private picture-gallery 
of a wealthy merchant, whose unpro- 
nounceable name I have quite for- 
gotten. We went with the expectation 
of seeing a few good pictures, but 
found a large gallery of eight or nine 
rooms filled with gems. It was there 
I first saw the work of that remark- 
ably clever, versatile artist, Vasili 
Verestchagin. His incidents in the 
Russo-Turkish war filled us with hor- 
ror, and certainly he paints as realis- 
tically as is possible. Our guide told 
us that he had incurred the Emperor's 
displeasure, on account of his truth- 
ful portrayal of terrible scenes during 
the last campaign, but I doubt the 
truth of the rumor, as we did not 
hear it corroborated by any reliable 
person. 

A large number of charming works 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 197 

by Makoffsky, the painter of the 
well-known " Russian Wedding " and 
•' Choosing the Bride/' represent dif- 
ferent phases of Russian life. A St. 
Petersburg gamin attracted us great- 
ly, being admirably done and full of 
spirit. Behind a curtain hangs a pic- 
ture of Ivan the Terrible killing his 
own son. Not knowing what we 
were to see, we casually strolled tow- 
ards the alcove ; but in the dimness, 
the blood-curdling sight made us 
leave the locality speedily. Among 
the best of the collection is one of a 
third-class railway-carriage filled with 
convicts en route to Siberia. The train 
has stopped at a way-station ; pigeons 
are picking up bits of bread thrown 
from the car windows by some sad, 
sweet-faced children, who are evident- 
ly accompanying their parents to 
that terrible country. Standing be- 
hind the children are the exiles, who 
for the moment have forgotten their 



198 Land of the Viking. 

misery and blighted hopes, and are 
amusedly watching the children's en- 
joyment derived from giving scraps 
to the birds, possibly parting with 
food necessary for their own nour- 
ishment. The picture is strangely 
pathetic, and one cannot help im- 
agining a look of envy in the faces 
of the condemned ones, who, seeing 
the birds are free, would fain share 
their sense of liberty. The marine 
painter, Aivazofski, has great pow- 
er, and the specimens of his work we 
had previously seen prepared us for 
enjoying those belonging to this gal- 
lery. " The Black Sea," a dreary 
stretch of angry water, fascinated us, 
and u A Shipwreck/' with wonderful 
light from a rainbow, filled us with a 
sense of awe. Many studies and 
ideal heads fill two rooms ; also we 
liked some pictures of Cairo and 
Alexandria. It was a most enjoya- 
ble morning, and we wandered from 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 199 

room to room until the hour for 
closing the gallery forced us to go 
elsewhere. 

Of the Troitsa Monastery, with its 
twelve churches filled with priceless 
treasures of every description, I have 
not space to write ; but I must refer 
to the catacombs in the hermitage 
belonging to the monastery, filled 
with human beings living in total 
solitude, having vowed never again 
to look upon light of day or face of 
mankind. Now, what possible good 
can they do themselves or the world 
by this course ? This monastery, 
founded in 1342, has an enormous 
revenue, and is visited by over one 
hundred thousand devout pilgrims 
annually. The Simonof Monastery, 
several convents and museums, are 
all of great interest to strangers, and 
the longer one remains in Moscow 
the more one is overwhelmed at the 
amount of sight-seeing there is to be 



200 Land of the Viking. 

done. Dining at a different restau- 
rant each evening, we found meals 
were very good, well served, and 
quite inexpensive ; most of the wait- 
ers were dressed in spotless white- 
linen suits. Nearly all the restau- 
rants are provided with a large 
orchestrion ; some being very loud 
played national airs joyously. 

The Romanoff House, in the Katai 
Gorod, gives one an accurate idea of 
Russian life hundreds of years since ; 
the interior is in the style of dwell- 
ing-houses in the sixteenth century, 
it having been sacked by the French 
and rebuilt, but the original walls 
remain. Michael, the founder of the 
Romanoff dynasty, was born here, 
where many of his belongings and 
curious souvenirs have been pre- 
served. It is a queer, four-storied, 
highly decorated building ; in the 
basement are cellars for wine, beer, 
and various provisions ; the low, 




o 

o 

(/> 
O 

:s 
ul 

</> 

D 
O 

X 

U- 
L. 
O 

2 
< 

o 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 201 

arched ceilings of the upper story- 
are gayly colored ; the doors were 
purposely built very low, so that 
ambassadors and others entering the 
Tsar's presence were obliged to make 
a profound obeisance, or failing to do 
this, received a blow on the head 
from the archway. The largest room 
is the royal chapel, with Gothic roof 
ornamented in odd devices ; in the 
walls are many secret recesses for the 
concealment of treasures. An old 
four-post bedstead and brocade-cov- 
ered benches complete the furnish- 
ings of the bed-chamber, where the 
ceilings and walls are of carved wood. 
The quaint cut of the Tsar's shirt, 
and Tsarita's night-dress, and the 
clothing worn by Michael when a 
child, as well as in manhood, were of 
great interest ; but the toys in the 
nursery of the Terem cradles, prim- 
ers and dolls, we coveted as curios ; 
certainly a child must have longed 



202 Land of the Viking. 

for amusement to have been satisfied 
with these grotesque imitations. 
Some very old and valuable Ikons, 
much family plate of curious designs, 
tile stoves and writing utensils similar 
to those used in England in the thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries, at. 
tracted our notice, and I felt as if we 
were far away from this prosperous 
nineteenth century while lingering 
among these quaint relics of bygone 
times. 

The Signorina and the Madame 
drove to the Petrovski palace and 
park, three miles beyond the city 
limit. It was here Napoleon took 
refuge when the conflagration forced 
him to flee from the city ; and before 
the Tsar's coronation he and his 
suite reside here. This is the only 
palace which is not crowded with 
ornaments, and in its plainness and 
simplicity it presents a striking and 
not agreeable contrast to the gor- 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 203 

geousness of the rest. The race- 
course in the park is a favorite resort 
in summer ; but the bad pavements 
and narrow, dirty streets did not 
create a favorable impression on the 
indefatigable sight-seers. 

We spent Sunday afternoon at the 
Foundling Hospital, that enormous 
institution founded by Catherine the 
Great. Being August, the main 
building was empty, as in the sum- 
mer the babies and nurses live in 
small cottages, of which there must 
be forty or fifty within the grounds. 
Think of fifteen hundred babies 
under two months old ! What a 
harrowing sight ! The day of our 
visit sixty had been received, and 
the average is fifteen thousand an- 
nually. The only questions asked 
are : " Has the child been baptized ? " 
and "What is its name and age?" 
They are publicly brought in, their 
names entered in a book, and a cor- 



204 Land of the Viking. 

responding ticket is attached to the 
infant ; then it is carefully bathed in 
a copper tub lined with flannel, vac- 
cinated, and, if perfectly healthy, 
sent into a ward to be given in 
charge of one of the buxom peasant 
women acting as wet-nurse, of which 
there are about eight hundred, wear- 
ing national costumes, with necklaces 
of large glass beads. Fancy one wo- 
man taking care of three screaming 
children of the same age. When two 
months old they are sent with their 
nurse to the country, and cared for 
until they become of age. If the 
girls marry, they receive a wedding 
outfit and presents of money. The 
boys learn trades, and some enter 
the army. In the hospital, many 
among the trained nurses were 
foundlings, and returned to the 
institution to care for other helpless 
creatures as they were themselves 
cared for. 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 205 

Every thing about this vast estab- 
lishment was scrupulously clean and 
comfortable. In the chapel there is 
generally baptism going on, for many 
of the poor infants have not been pre- 
viously named. The laundry, kitchen, 
and every household department we 
found complete, but the puny babies, 
wailing piteously, made us heart-sick. 
They were swathed in muslin, with 
their arms bound down ; the nurses 
let their helpless heads bob about in 
every direction. However, a merci- 
ful Providence removes a large per- 
centage of them from the sorrows of 
this world. Some of these are chil- 
dren of poor but honest parents, 
who cannot afford to support them, 
and knowing they will receive excel- 
lent care send them to this hos- 
pital. The government appropriates 
annually an immense sum for its 
support, but it seems as though it 
must encourage crime ; it is, how- 



206 Land of the Viking. 

ever, a greater problem than I care 
to grapple with. 

We expected to go to Nijni Nov- 
gorod from Moscow, but were ad- 
vised by experienced friends not to 
undertake it, as, since the railroad 
facilities have increased so greatly in 
Russia, the fair has lost much of its 
Oriental character, and lacks the in- 
terest of former days. The trip is 
an exhausting one, so we con- 
tented ourselves with cross-ques- 
tioning friends, who had found it a 
wearisome experience, and told us 
that the goods would compare favor- 
ably with those on exhibition in the 
Bowery, New York. 

We greatly enjoyed the weeks 
spent in Russia ; every thing seemed 
novel to us. In St. Petersburg and 
Moscow we often felt as if we were 
far from Europe, and the queer cus- 
toms, outlandish garb of the lower 
classes, Oriental bazaars, and, above 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 207 

all, the bulb-like domes and minarets, 
added to the strangeness of the 
scene ; and one great charm to me 
was in meeting so few tourists. " Holy 
Mother Moscow/' with her dirt and 
magnificence, glorious churches and 
remnants of barbarism, no wonder 
the Russians rejoiced unspeakably 
at the disasters of the hated French. 
The gross superstition of the people, 
their idolatry and devotion to out- 
ward forms and to their Ikons, are 
alike strange and repulsive. In the 
cathedrals, the priceless jewels, splen- 
did pictures, ornaments of rarest 
minerals, the lavish expenditure on 
the smallest details, were in strange 
contrast to the poor, squalid, igno- 
rant people thronging the churches, 
whose rapt devotion was remarkable. 
In the numerous palaces, ornaments, 
and furnishings the wealth of the 
Tsar is shown ; his power is supreme, 
his possessions past computing, and 
always increasing. 



208 Land of the Viking. 

Russia impressed me as too vast 
to comprehend ; figures convey but 
small idea to one's mind, but her 
territory equals one half of Europe, 
and her undeveloped resources and 
wealth are enormous, and far exceed- 
ing our comprehension. What the 
future will be of this wonderful 
country no one can predict, but at 
all events Russia would be a most 
dangerous and mighty foe. Her 
army is immense, and if the wealth 
of jewels, rare minerals, and priceless 
ornaments of all kinds were con- 
verted into rubles, it seems as if her 
power would be limitless. Then, 
too, what might she not accomplish 
in educating the masses of the peo- 
ple, if the vast sums were expended 
in that way, instead of in decorating 
palaces and churches. The amount 
represented in jewels alone would be 
sufficient to raise from degradation 
millions of ignorant, superstitious 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 209 

peasants, whose enlightenment is less 
than that of the heathen, but most 
of whom are strangely patriotic. 

But amid all these splendors, my 
mind constantly reverted to the days 
spent in tranquil, picturesque Nor- 
way. There can be no lovelier coun- 
try on earth, and away in those 
northern waters we felt the power 
and majesty of God to a profound 
degree. 

Fair Poland, how sad a fate is 
thine ! From Moscow we went di- 
rectly to Warsaw. The trip was 
fatiguing, and in spite of a comfort- 
able railway carriage the forty hours 
seemed interminable. From the 
Prague suburb of the city, we drove 
to the extensive Hotel d'Europe, 
where the management and food are 
Russian. A national soup we ex- 
perimented upon had a block of ice 
floating in the remarkable decoction, 
of which a taste more than sufficed. 



210 Land of the Viking. 

The royal castle stands in a square 
near the hotel, but most of its treas- 
ures have been carried to St. Peters- 
burg and Moscow. We took long 
walks past monuments, shops, and 
churches, which, after the splendor 
of Russia's cathedrals, looked plain 
to us. The beautiful Saxony gar- 
den, with fine fountains, lovely flow- 
ers, and a labyrinth of paths, stands 
in the centre of the town, and is 
the citizens' favorite resort. 

From the cupola of a Lutheran 
church we had an excellent view of 
Warsaw ; the city covers an enor- 
mous space, but failed to impress 
us favorably. Driving in the park 
was our only diversion. The pave- 
ments were rough, and many 
buildings seemed to be falling into 
decay. Stationed in the streets were 
mounted Russian guards, and every- 
where we saw evidences of a con- 
quered country, and an air of neglect 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 2 1 1 

seemed to pervade the city. There 
are, however, some fine private resi- 
dences, standing in the midst of ex- 
tensive grounds, belonging to noble 
Polish families. While driving we 
saw a few beautiful women, but 
being summer most of the upper 
classes were out of town. Reflecting 
upon the present condition of Poland 
filled us with sadness. How bravely 
her sons fought to preserve their lib- 
erty and rights ; how many names 
are enrolled among the noblest of pa- 
triots, but their bravery and sacrifices 
were in vain, and to-day this fair 
country is divided between Russia, 
Prussia, and Austria. The Polish 
refugees we have met in America 
have shown such nobility and gran- 
deur of character that we have longed 
for an extensive acquaintance among 
their country people. Our stay in 
Warsaw depressed us, and we felt a 
righteous indignation against those 



212 Land of the Viking. 

who conquered these brave patriotic 
people. 

We spent pleasant days in Berlin, 
where many military reviews held by 
the Kaiser, museums, galleries, beau- 
tiful parks, fine shops, and advanced 
civilization were quite to our taste. 
In Dresden, with its deservedly fa- 
mous picture-galleries, and superb 
representations of Wagnerian operas, 
our enjoyment was great. 

From thence we went to Cologne, 
with its traditional smells, grand ca- 
thedral, and church of eleven thou- 
sand virgins, where the bones of the 
slaughtered maidens are arranged on 
the walls in grotesque designs. To 
the Cologne gallery belongs Richter's 
ideal portrait of the adored Queen 
Louisa, from which we could not tear 
ourselves, and after a prolonged view 
returned again and again to gaze 
spellbound on the exquisite face and 
figure so beautifully portrayed. 



Sights Outside the Kremlin. 2 1 3 

Down the Rhine we went to Bin- 
gen where the mouse tower and 
restored feudal castle of Rhinestein 
vie with each other in picturesque 
beauty, and from there to bright, 
beautiful Paris, the American Mecca. 



c 



> 



*T> 



1.1 



** ^ A> 



W 





A^ <► 




^°* 








*°A 



O M 




o ^ 

o V 




» ^ 





oV 












4 Q*. * 




V 



O M 



0° * 



<°* 



'*- "- ^ ._ ^ .V 
























"**- «J> O ..o, <* ~* .1,., •*- 







o 






* 

* 




- c**? 

* *■ 




S^«V V0OKW A*'> 




D0BBSBR0S. , *>**XS§5?\ <\ 

Liu*** ......•• ^ ^ ^ . * ^r 

1 ft ^ a° •!•<?' ^ V^ *• 

^ ST. AUGUSTINE . ^ ^ V 




4 v <vr 

A* C ° " ° * ^ 










^ 




<6 







